PoliticsUK

Ladies and gentlemen,

It's great to be here in Glasgow with Gordon, Richard and our strong, dedicated Labour team to support their campaign to Make Scotland Count. And it may seem like I'm just another dignitary to spruce up this event, but let me say this: what Labour north of the border is doing has a lot in common with what we're doing at Westminster.

Labour is the party for hard-working people and their communities across Scotland, like it is across the United Kingdom. Labour is the party that has consistently championed the causes of better public services, a stronger economy and the needs of local communities over the obsessions of parties in government. Labour is the party for which Every Community Counts.

If that sounds familiar to you, then that's because the battles we are waging this election, and the appeal we make for both votes Labour is the same.

Scotland, too, has had a government distracted by its obsessions. While they talk about the Independence Referendum, they have presided over sleaze, decline in our public services, not to mention savage cuts to the local services so many Scots rely on. Nicola Sturgeon did not even have the decency to resign as leader after she misled Parliament and damaged the public's trust in their representatives. So ask yourselves - does someone who runs again after letting the people down so badly truly deserve another term?

You could go to the Tories - but look closely and you'll find they suffer form the same misconceptions about what this election is about. They, too, are obsessed with two things: the SNP, and the possibility of an Independence Referendum. Like at Westminster, they'd rather stick to politicking and posturing about the Union than addressing the real problems that threaten it. And in case you were wondering if the savage cuts will get better with them, think again: the Tories and their savage cuts to the block grant have sold Scotland short again and again. And it's not going to end as Alec Dundas has sent you an abundantly clear message: you cannot be trusted to let your own government govern you - and he'll be intervening in your politics, selling Scotland short, again and again. Because like they did decades ago with the poll tax, the Tories' vision comes top-down from Westminster, rather than bottom-up from Scotland.

Let me sum it up for you. 5 more years of Indyref obsession. Savage cuts. Distractions from solving the real problems Scottish communities are facing. Can you tell the difference? I can't blame you - neither can I.

Labour is different. Our vision, our politics starts in every community of this country, in the values of solidarity and fairness that are so strong in Scotland. Let's be absolutely clear - we don't support another Independence Referendum. But that's not what this election should be about - because every day politicians focus on these constitutional questions is another day the very real challenges for Scotland and our local communities go unaddressed. It's like it has been with Brexit across the UK - we've been so focused on it that it threatens to overshadow the real issues this election is about.

Your job. Your elderly parents' social care. Your children's education. Affordable public transport. The best healthcare when you need it. That community centre your Council may have had to close down because of lack of investment. The future of our very planet. That's what this election is about for us.

Only Labour has the policies for better public services. We'll increase per pupil spending and reverse the savage cuts of the SNP to higher education, geting university students back to the 2007 level. We'll build an Education system where every child counts with a Fair start fund to level up schools in disadvantaged communities, and increasing childcare. We'll invest in our NHS and build the Scottish National Care Service into a leading example for the rest of Britain. We'll connect communities by expanding lines to rural regions and reversing some of the line closures, and we'll take great strides to protect our planet by decarbonizing Scottish rails in 15 years and make all buses in Scotland ultra-low on emissions within the decade rather than the SNP's 65 years.

Only Labour has the policies for a dynamic Scottish economy. We'll help end the indignity of zero-hour contracts with a Good Work Plan to reward employers who give their workers a fair deal. Gordon Brown will be leading a push to eliminate poverty and establish Scotland once again as a paragon of social justice. We’ll expand the Scottish National Investment Bank to make the most of the transition towards greener and more digital futures and make Scotland a green, digital powerhouse. We’ll forge strong alliances between trade unions and businesses to drive industrial policy and ensure that the industries of the futue count for everyone - with well-paying, good and sustainable jobs as the ultimate goal.

And with both votes for Labour, you can send a signal that the top-down, divisive way in which Scotland has been treated at Westminster as well as Holyrood has to end. Just before this campaign started, I pledged that the next Labour government would devolve more tax powers and powers over social security to Scotland - because Scotland needs those powers to build a fairer, more dynamic economy and better public services. And a Labour government will reform the Union to give Scotland a stronger presence cooperating with the other three governments - with a new Council of Ministers. Both votes for Labour may not bring that change about immediately - but it will help to send a signal that Scotland Counts, within the Union, and that it's time for change.

So my appeal to you today is clear: Make Scotland Count. Because Scotland counts. Right now. You have an opportunity to make it so tomorrow. So don't let them play political games with you. Don't let the Tory government at Westminster talk down to you. Don't let the SNP take you for granted. Because this election is not about their obsessions - it is about your needs. This election is about your schools, your hospitals, your social care, your public transport, your jobs.

And on May 7th, you have the chance to vote for a party you can still count on on May the 8th. A party that will put your concerns front and centre, restore trust in Scottish politics and make devolution count for you every day. So tomorrow, cast both your votes for Labour - and make Scotland count.

Thank you.