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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Scottish Labour considers Trident debate | Scottish Labour considers Trident debate |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Scottish Labour is to decide whether or not to discuss the thorny issue of Trident renewal as its conference gets under way in Perth. | Scottish Labour is to decide whether or not to discuss the thorny issue of Trident renewal as its conference gets under way in Perth. |
| Delegates will be gathering with next year's Holyrood elections just six months away, and polls suggesting the party is trailing far behind the SNP. | Delegates will be gathering with next year's Holyrood elections just six months away, and polls suggesting the party is trailing far behind the SNP. |
| Scottish Labour has said it wants to use the conference to encourage voters to "take a fresh look" at the party. | Scottish Labour has said it wants to use the conference to encourage voters to "take a fresh look" at the party. |
| UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also due to address the conference. | UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is also due to address the conference. |
| Labour remains committed to renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system, which is based at Faslane on the Clyde, despite it being strongly opposed by Mr Corbyn. | Labour remains committed to renewing the Trident nuclear weapons system, which is based at Faslane on the Clyde, despite it being strongly opposed by Mr Corbyn. |
| Delegates at the party's UK conference in Brighton voted to debate other issues rather than Trident last month. | Delegates at the party's UK conference in Brighton voted to debate other issues rather than Trident last month. |
| Strength of feeling | Strength of feeling |
| Scottish members are to decide on Friday whether a motion opposing Trident renewal should be discussed on Sunday. | |
| Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale told the BBC she understood the strength of feeling on the issue. | Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale told the BBC she understood the strength of feeling on the issue. |
| And she said that if a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines was not ordered, the money saved should go to the communities that lose out. | And she said that if a new fleet of nuclear-armed submarines was not ordered, the money saved should go to the communities that lose out. |
| She seemed relaxed about Scottish Labour potentially having a different position from the UK party, and said there would be a process for reaching agreed manifesto positions on contentious issues, and where this is not possible, there could be a system of "agreed abstention". | She seemed relaxed about Scottish Labour potentially having a different position from the UK party, and said there would be a process for reaching agreed manifesto positions on contentious issues, and where this is not possible, there could be a system of "agreed abstention". |
| Labour's only surviving Scottish MP has also insisted the party could have different policies on the renewal of Trident north and south of the border. | |
| Shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray said moves to make the party north of the border more autonomous meant it could "have a different position on anything it wants". | |
| Ahead of the conference, Lothians MSP and former Scottish Labour leadership contender Neil Findlay, who is an ally of Mr Corbyn in his opposition to nuclear weapons, said the party cannot take a "a head-in-the-sand approach" when delegates are asked to decide on Friday whether or not to hold a Trident debate. | Ahead of the conference, Lothians MSP and former Scottish Labour leadership contender Neil Findlay, who is an ally of Mr Corbyn in his opposition to nuclear weapons, said the party cannot take a "a head-in-the-sand approach" when delegates are asked to decide on Friday whether or not to hold a Trident debate. |
| Writing in the conference bulletin of the Labour Campaign for Socialism, Mr Findlay warned his party: "If we shy away from discussing this issue, we can be sure that others won't be slow in pointing out our reluctance to do so." | Writing in the conference bulletin of the Labour Campaign for Socialism, Mr Findlay warned his party: "If we shy away from discussing this issue, we can be sure that others won't be slow in pointing out our reluctance to do so." |
| The GMB union has also written party members warning that cancelling the Trident replacement would threaten thousands of defence jobs in Scotland. | The GMB union has also written party members warning that cancelling the Trident replacement would threaten thousands of defence jobs in Scotland. |
| Scottish Labour suffered a devastating defeat in May's general election, with the party losing 40 of its 41 seats to the SNP, which has pledged to remove nuclear weapons from Scottish waters. | Scottish Labour suffered a devastating defeat in May's general election, with the party losing 40 of its 41 seats to the SNP, which has pledged to remove nuclear weapons from Scottish waters. |
| But it has reported a jump in membership since Mr Corbyn became UK party leader last month. | But it has reported a jump in membership since Mr Corbyn became UK party leader last month. |
| In his speech, Mr Corbyn is expected to present Labour as a socialist alternative to the SNP. He will also challenge Conservative tax credit cuts and Scottish government cuts in education. | In his speech, Mr Corbyn is expected to present Labour as a socialist alternative to the SNP. He will also challenge Conservative tax credit cuts and Scottish government cuts in education. |
| He will add: "If you're satisfied with rising inequality, rising child poverty and widening health inequalities, then Labour is not for you. If you're satisfied that nearly a million people in Scotland are in fuel poverty or that half of all housing in Scotland falls short of official quality standards, then Labour isn't for you." | He will add: "If you're satisfied with rising inequality, rising child poverty and widening health inequalities, then Labour is not for you. If you're satisfied that nearly a million people in Scotland are in fuel poverty or that half of all housing in Scotland falls short of official quality standards, then Labour isn't for you." |
| Mr Corbyn last week backed Ms Dugdale's proposals for Scottish Labour to be given greater autonomy over areas such as policy making, candidate selection and membership. | Mr Corbyn last week backed Ms Dugdale's proposals for Scottish Labour to be given greater autonomy over areas such as policy making, candidate selection and membership. |
| Debate over the position of the party in Scotland has raged since last year's independence referendum, after which former leader Johann Lamont resigned after claiming the London leadership treated it like a "branch office". | Debate over the position of the party in Scotland has raged since last year's independence referendum, after which former leader Johann Lamont resigned after claiming the London leadership treated it like a "branch office". |
| 'Changing world' | |
| Ms Dugdale, who will also use the conference to announce new plans to help more youngsters leaving care to go on to university, will say that Labour is "well aware of the challenges we face" after receiving a "resounding message from the voters in May". | Ms Dugdale, who will also use the conference to announce new plans to help more youngsters leaving care to go on to university, will say that Labour is "well aware of the challenges we face" after receiving a "resounding message from the voters in May". |
| She will add that while that message was "painful", there is "now a new generation of leadership has taken up the challenge of renewing our party". | She will add that while that message was "painful", there is "now a new generation of leadership has taken up the challenge of renewing our party". |
| And she will insist that the party saying the party is "confident about the future" and "upbeat about the opportunities that come in a changing world". | And she will insist that the party saying the party is "confident about the future" and "upbeat about the opportunities that come in a changing world". |
| Ms Dugdale will say: "I'm of a generation that has grown up with the Scottish Parliament as the centre of Scottish politics. | Ms Dugdale will say: "I'm of a generation that has grown up with the Scottish Parliament as the centre of Scottish politics. |
| "We start this conference more ambitious for our parliament, more upbeat about the future, more determined than ever to stand up to the Scottish establishment. | "We start this conference more ambitious for our parliament, more upbeat about the future, more determined than ever to stand up to the Scottish establishment. |
| "We can be the party that people put their trust in once again. It won't happen overnight. But the changes we are making under my leadership will make us fit for the future." | "We can be the party that people put their trust in once again. It won't happen overnight. But the changes we are making under my leadership will make us fit for the future." |
| Plans for young people leaving care to receive full grant support, worth £6,000 a year, if they make it to university will also be unveiled by Ms Dugdale. | Plans for young people leaving care to receive full grant support, worth £6,000 a year, if they make it to university will also be unveiled by Ms Dugdale. |
| She will tell a fringe event at the conference that youngsters who are in care "are some of the most vulnerable in our communities", adding that the "reality is that they are more likely to go to jail than university". | She will tell a fringe event at the conference that youngsters who are in care "are some of the most vulnerable in our communities", adding that the "reality is that they are more likely to go to jail than university". |
| The Scottish Labour conference can be watched live online from 09:50 to 11:50 and from 14:05 to 16:05 on Friday, and from 13:40 to 15:40 on Saturday. Conference 2015: Scottish Labour Party will also be shown on BBC Two Scotland on Saturday. | The Scottish Labour conference can be watched live online from 09:50 to 11:50 and from 14:05 to 16:05 on Friday, and from 13:40 to 15:40 on Saturday. Conference 2015: Scottish Labour Party will also be shown on BBC Two Scotland on Saturday. |