Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits Scotland ‘to win back support’
Labour’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn is to make his first official visit to Scotland where he will begin a campaign to “win back support”.
The visit comes four months after Labour lost 40 of its 41 Scottish MPs.
Ahead of the trip, the MP said he would not interfere in the “operation” of Scottish Labour.
Mr Corbyn, who won the leadership of his party last month, said his priority was winning back votes in Scotland.
Perhaps disgruntled SNP supporters will be able to seek clarification of comments made by Mr Corbyn during the Labour Conference.
Several have commented on Vox Political about claims he has made.
Source: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn visits Scotland ‘to win back support’ – BBC News
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Seeing from the election results what a rich MP catchment area this represents per actual voter I can see the interest. However will this time investment work against his proposals to reform the electoral system to a more fairer representative vote system ..not convinced the main parties will want proportional representation to disturb the current system.
I suspect he may have burnt his bridges before he even crosses the border. His recent statements re privatisation sowed the first seeds of disappontment with ex-Labour voters who had hoped for improved relations. I admired his original attitude of referring to “Labour in Scotland” but, unless the BBC are misquoting him, heaven forbid, he is now using the Murph/Kezza “Scottish Labour” tag. If he thinks that will win him support, I believe he is wrong. Both the Nationalists and Labour know no such party exists and that “Labour in Scotland” will always be tied to the unionist Westminster party policies, whatever Corbyn says. However, I look forward to hearing him out.
Labour in Scotland IS Scottish Labour, Joan. You appear to be trying to peddle a point of propaganda that was irrelevant when the SNP first made it. Remember, Labour is a UK-wide party. Attempts to make this seem bad only belittle those who are making the claim.
I can be accused of many things, Mike, including having different views to your good self on many occasions, but for peddling propaganda, no. The people I am getting at are Kezia Dugdale and her MSPs who keep insisting that Scottish Labour are different and can make their own policies, that may clash with those of the Labour Party. They cannot fulfil many of these promises since they are not a separate party, as you say yourself, and would have to bow to the UK-wide policies.
That’s right – they aren’t a separate party; policies made for the Scottish Parliament, for example, would have to follow the national Labour philosophy. But that’s not a bad thing in and of itself, as plenty of SNP supporters have been trying to pretend.
Labour lost in Scotland because they sided with the tories on everything – not just Unionism. Most Scots just want a fairer deal. Corbyn can offer that.
You’re wrong about Labour siding with the Tories. This Blog has been over those lies many times in the past. I expected better of you.
That being said, there was clearly a lot wrong with Scottish Labour’s approach and I agree that Corbyn can change that and make Labour a better choice for Scotland than the SNP.
The remarks he made on Sunday were unfair, although whether he said them out of dishonesty, or just because Kezia Dugdale was giving him false information, is not clear.
To suggest that the SNP played any role in helping privatise the rail network north of the border is clearly nonsense; they bitterly opposed it in the mid-90s, and I can state that from personal experience as I was living in Scotland at the time. What they have done is flog ScotRail to a state-owned foreign company, just like the Tories have done with energy suppliers. That I think is quite bad enough. But as it is currently illegal to nationalise public transport, the option of bringing it back under state control was not available to them. The SNP’s hands have been, if not actually tied, then certainly restricted for movement.
As for CalMac, I’d say Corbyn is jumping the gun, as the ‘privatisation’ hasn’t happened yet, and may not. The SNP have put the ferry service up for bidding as they are required to by EU law, but they are not required to accept any of the bids they receive. And the process currently being followed appears no different from the one the Labour administration at Holyrood followed ten years ago, when the contract was last opened to bidding.
I admit to being a bit confused about the whole area of the rail networks currently. You use the phrase “flog ScotRail to a state-owned foreign company”. I have always been under the impression that this was simply the latest in a line of franchises. When that runs out, surely Abellio don’t own Scotrail and all rolling stock.
It’s not going to do any good I’m afraid, not whilst the Leader of the Scottish Labour party is an antagonistic moron who is more interested in point scoring than building up Labour support by promoting better policies.
(sorry for the wings link)
http://wingsoverscotland.com/scotland-deserves-better/
She’s an unelected (list MSP so never had to win a seat) Blairite who is totally at odds with where the Scottish electorate see Labours future. The GE was a warning shot across Scotlabs bow that we don’t want Murphys or Dugdales here.
Someone like Katy Clarke however I would get behind, it’s a shame she lost out to dissent in the GE and I hope they put her in the Scottish Parliament next year where she can launch a fight and win a leadership challenge and then push Scotlab in line with the UK labour leader and the Scottish electorate.
I have to admit I have had doubts about Kezia Dugdale since before Murphy became Scottish Labour leader.
I wonder when he’ll be visiting the mugs in the North of England who year in, year out, vote Labour, and seem to get nothing back in return.
Do you understand anything at all about the UK electoral system? People in the north vote Labour because they know they’ll get nothing from the Conservatives. When a Conservative, or Conservative-led, government comes into office – as we’ve had since 2010 – this is proven because the Tories have given the north nothing. Labour hasn’t been in a position to do anything for the north because Labour has not been in office – the Tories have.
Do you understand now?
Out of interest, what would you propose as an alternative? Voting Tory, and getting nothing back in return? Voting UKIP, and getting nothing back in return? Voting Liberal Democrat (ha ha ha)?
I fear that he has an uphill struggle on his hands with Scotland. It is, I believe, only a matter of time before it breaks away from the Union.
Act in haste, repent at leisure.
I believe there’s been a lot of brainwashing up there.