RICHARD Leonard urged Boris Johnson to hand Scotland more borrowing powers in a bid to see off rising support for Scottish independence.
The Scottish Labour leader also called for the Prime Minister – currently on holiday in Scotland – to reallocate around £800 million per year from the UK’s current EU contribution to the Holyrood budget, in addition to Barnett formula funding.
He presented his demands during a key note speech yesterday after a series of opinion polls have put his party on course for losing more seats at next year’s Holyrood elections and given him low personal approval ratings among voters.
In an attempt to get on the front foot, Leonard set out his vision for a “green new deal” to create more than 130,000 jobs and spend £200m in rolling out electric vehicle charging points.
“People will say: ‘How will you pay for this?’ To them I say the Scottish Parliament needs more borrowing powers to provide the investment that is required now,” he said.
“And as one of our post-Brexit calls should be that Westminster reallocate around £800 million per year from the current EU contribution to the Scottish Parliament’s budget, in addition to Barnett formula funding.”
Leonard also pledged a new National Care Service and thousands of new councils houses.
By helping to fund them, he said the Tory Government at Westminster could help see off the threat of rising support for independence.
With a series of polls showing a majority of Scots now in favour of leaving the UK, Leonard blamed the Prime Minister in part for the increased backing.
He said: “If I am honest I think part of it is the conduct of Boris Johnson and the perception of Johnson.
“Juxtaposing Nicola Sturgeon with Johnson, people clearly hold Sturgeon in much higher regard.”
But he said if the Prime Minister was “serious about defeating any rise in nationalism, he must understand the importance of investing in the Scottish economy and the kind of proposals we have outlined today”.
Leonard said: “This in our view would be a step in showing the value of being part of a stable and longstanding monetary union to the people of Scotland. We are laying down that challenge which we hope he will rise to.”
His plans include the establishment of a National Care Service, to replace the current “broken” care system, and a commitment that a Labour government at Holyrood would build 12,000 council homes a year “to the highest energy efficiency standards”.
Improvements would be made to existing properties, so all of Scotland’s homes achieve at least a C rating for energy efficiency by 2030.
He added that Labour would set up a state-owned carbon capture company, and pledged a £100m investment in new electric buses from domestic manufacturers.
“Housing, energy, infrastructure, environmental restoration and transport... our bold plans would create in total up to 131,000 new jobs,” he said.
“With careful planning involving businesses, trade unions and government and the right investment, we can create sustainable jobs in all parts of the country, staving off the imminent and real threat of mass unemployment.
“We can retain jobs, guarantee jobs, we can create jobs.”
As Scotland seeks to move on from coronavirus, he insisted the country “must broaden our horizons”, insisting there could be no “return to the same old failed normal”.
Leonard said: “That is the fight that I will lead Scottish Labour into the 2021 elections to win. The fight for a fairer Scotland, a greener Scotland, a better Scotland.”
He said his party had been contacted by former Labour MP George Galloway’s Alliance for Unity organisation, but Leonard said he had “made clear that the Labour Party is not interested in going into any electoral pacts”.
He said: “We will fight next year’s election as an independent, distinctive Scottish Labour Party on our own manifesto.”
His party is running third in opinion polls in Scotland, behind the SNP and the Conservatives, and Leonard said he did “not underestimate the scale of the challenge the Scottish Labour Party face”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel