SCOTLAND “holds the keys” to Labour getting back into power, Jeremy Corbyn insisted today as he prepared to take his summer campaign north of the border with a five-day visit.
The party pointed out that of the 64 extra seats it needed to win to secure a parliamentary majority at Westminster, 18 – more than a quarter – were in Scotland.
But it also noted how a swing of less than one per cent would be required to win seven more Scottish seats such as Glasgow South West and Glasgow East, Airdrie and Shotts, Lanark and Hamilton East and Inverclyde. In the June election, Labour increased its number of MPs from one to seven.
Speaking ahead of the tour, which begins on Wednesday with a trip to the Western Isles, the Labour leader said: “Scotland holds the keys to delivering a Labour government for the whole United Kingdom.
“We have stayed on an election footing all summer and nowhere is more important to delivering another Labour government than Scotland.
“Labour has the policies to build a fairer Scotland for the many not the few with a £10-an-hour minimum wage, a ban on zero hour contracts, a jobs-first Brexit deal and taxing big corporations and the highest paid five per cent a bit more to fund our schools, hospitals, emergency services and social care.”
The Labour leader added: “The only way to deliver the truly radical change that Scotland needs is to back Labour in Scotland.”
Mr Corbyn will hold a rally at Drygate in Glasgow on Thursday night. He will then travel to target seats held by the SNP in Lanarkshire on Friday, Fife on Saturday and end the Scottish leg of his summer campaigning in Edinburgh and the Lothians on Sunday.
It has been announced that the Labour leader will also speak at the Festival of Socialism at Glasgow University on Saturday night and at the Govanhill Against Racism Festival in the Queen's Park Arena on Sunday.
Kezia Dugdale, the Scottish Labour leader, echoed Mr Corbyn’s point, saying that Scotland would be “crucial at the next General Election, whenever it comes”.
She went on: “Labour has a message that resonates with people across Scotland and that saw seats won and majorities slashed across Scotland.
“Next time around, we are ready to win those seats and help deliver a government that works for the many, not the few.”
The Lothian MSP added: “After years of false promises from the SNP people in Scotland see what a truly radical agenda looks like. Only Labour can and will deliver the change Scotland needs.
But Miles Briggs, the Scottish Conservative MSP, suggested Mr Corbyn would be ready to see Britain broken up.
“It wasn’t so long ago Scottish Labour dreaded the thought of Jeremy Corbyn coming north. In fact, Kezia Dugdale still does and having travelled to New Zealand she literally could not be further away.
“Had he won the General Election, Corbyn would have sold Scotland out in a heartbeat and that ambivalence to Scotland’s place in the UK hasn’t changed,” he added.
Labour’s main target seats in Scotland; ranking in brackets.
*[2]Glasgow SW, maj 60; swing needed to win 0.08%.
*[3]Glasgow E, maj 75; 0.1%.
*[5]Airdrie & Shotts, maj 195; 0.26%.
*[10]Lanark and Hamilton E, maj 360; 0.36%.
*[12]Motherwell & Wishaw, maj 318; 0.38%.
*[13]Inverclyde, maj 384; 0.49%.
*[19]Dunfermline & Fife W, maj 844; 0.83%.
*[29]Edinburgh N & Leith, maj 1,625; 1.44%.
*[33]Glasgow N, maj 1,060; 1.58%.
*[42]Glasgow S, maj 2,027; 2.27%.
*[47]Dunbartonshire W, maj 2,288; 2.60%.
*[49]Linlithgow & Falkirk E, maj 2,919; 2.60%.
*[51]Paisley & Renfrewshire N, maj 2,613; 2.80%.
*[55]Paisley & Renfrewshire S, maj 2,541; 3.05%.
*[56]Glasgow C, maj 2,267; 3.15%.
*[58]Glasgow NW, maj 2,561; 3.30%.
*[60]Na h-Eileanan an Iar, maj 1,007; 3.40%.
*[64]East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow, maj 3,866; 3.57%.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel