Scottish Labour Manifesto2015

Scotland only succeeds
when working people

succeed. This is a plan to
reward hard work, share
prosperity and build a
better and fairer Scotland.
Its a plan for Scotland that
will make a real difference
to you and your family.
The Scottish Labour Manifesto 2015
Ours is a Scotland of remarkable

stories. Scots of creativity, of
passion, of community and of
compassion that have shaped the
world over the ages, and can do
again in the future.
We believe in our country, we
believe in a sense of optimism,
we have a confidence in our nation.
We can make Scotland the fairest
nation on earth.
Labours Manifesto Budget

Responsibility Lock
Our manifesto begins with the Budget Responsibility Lock we offer the British
people. It is the basis for all our plans in this manifesto because it is by securing
our national finances that we are able to secure the family finances of the
working people of Britain.
The Budget Responsibility Lock guarantees that:
Every policy in this manifesto is paid for. Not one commitment requires
additional borrowing. We are the first party to make that pledge and with
this manifesto it is delivered. We will legislate to require all major parties to
have their manifesto commitments independently audited by the Office for
Budget Responsibility.
A Labour government will cut the deficit every year. The first line
of Labours first Budget will be: This Budget cuts the deficit every year.
This manifesto sets out that we will only lay a Budget before the House
of Commons that cuts the deficit every year, which the OBR will
independently verify.
We will get national debt falling and a surplus on the current budget
as soon as possible in the next parliament. This manifesto sets out that
we will not compromise on this commitment.
Contents
Foreword by Jim Murphy... p6
Foreword by Ed Miliband... p8
A better future for Scotland... p11
Building an economy that
works for working people... p21
Providing world class
health and education services... p37
Helping our families
and communities to thrive... p49
Reforming government to
give more power to people... p67
Standing up for Britain's
interests in Europe and the world... p79
Time for change... p91
oreword by
Jim Murphy
Scotland is desperate for change. We know the last few years havent been good
enough. This manifesto sets out details of our plan. What we will do to make the change.
We believe in a successful and strong economy, where the benefits of wealth creation
are felt by all. Thats why we will not only raise the minimum wage and promote the
Living Wage, we will abolish exploitative zero-hours contracts.
We want peoples wages to go further so we will tackle the cost of living with a cap on
rent rises and a freeze on energy bills.
We will put decency back into the welfare state by ending unfair targets for sanctions. We
will abolish the bedroom tax and end the need for food banks in Scotland.
We will give hope again to our young people. We will tax bankers bonuses to guarantee
a job and training for young people. We will keep university tuition free in Scotland and
give the poorest students an extra 1000 on their bursaries. For those who dont go
into university, college or an apprenticeship well invest 1,600 in their future.
We will protect the NHS by taxing tobacco companies, making sure hedge funds pay
their fair share of tax and by introducing a Mansion Tax on properties worth over
2 million. For starters, we will use this money to employ a thousand more nurses in
Scotlands NHS.
We will devolve extensive new powers to the Scottish Parliament in Labours Home
Rule Bill, making it one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments in the world. This
will mean new powers over tax, jobs and welfare. It will also mean new powers over
borrowing. We will set out how we will use these powers in the best interests of
Scotland in the next year.
All this is only possible with an end to failed Tory austerity. We will make sure Scotland
gets our fair share of the new investment a Labour Government will provide by
keeping the Barnett formula that shares resources between South and North.
We reject the SNPs plan to cut Scotland off from taxes from across the rest of the UK
and for all public services in Scotland to be paid for only by taxes in Scotland.
The way to guarantee change, to deliver the plan we set out here, and to guarantee
that this failed Tory Government is sent packing, is to vote Scottish Labour.
Jim Murphy
Scottish Labour Leader
oreword by
Ed Miliband
We are a great country. With great people. In the last five years I have heard your
stories, your hopes and your dreams. And I have heard too your frustrations
about our country.
The countless people working as hard as they possibly can and still struggling to
pay the bills. The young people with great ambitions but great anxieties about
the future. The dedicated staff of our NHS, who are deeply concerned about its
condition and its future. And all those who have served our country and are now
retired, who ask me where our country is going.
This manifesto is inspired by you.
I take a simple view. We are a great country, but we can be even better.
The fundamental truth that runs through this manifesto is that Britain can only
succeed when working people succeed. It is an idea at the heart of my beliefs.
And it drives our better plan for a better future.
It means a country where hard work is rewarded, with high skill, high wage jobs.
An economy built on strong and secure foundations, where we balance the books.
It means building a future for all our young people, so they can get world-class
apprenticeships and access to affordable, higher education. It means strong public
services, rescuing our NHS.
It means strong communities, where power is shared by people in every part of
the country and where we respond to peoples concerns about immigration with
proper controls.
It means a Britain where everyone plays by the same rules, including those at the
very top of our society.
And it means an outward looking country, engaged in the world for our national interest.
For me, the privilege of serving as Prime Minister in our country would be for one
purpose alone: to work every day to help build a country that works again for working
people. This manifesto is our plan to achieve that goal.
Ed Miliband
e will build a
better future
for Scotland
his manifesto sets out Labours plan for changing Scotland.

It is built on a simple principle: when working people succeed,
Scotland succeeds.
Over the past five years, working people across Scotland have suffered under
the Tories. We are going to end Tory austerity and reverse the damage they
have done.
We believe that for working people to succeed, our whole country has to
change. For too long it has been working for a few people at the top instead of
the vast majority.
But across Scotland working people also know a simple truth: the economy is
not working for them. For years now, our economy has not rewarded everyone
who put in a good, honest days work. However hard people work, many dont
earn enough to make ends meet. Too many have been driven from secure,
full-time work into precarious, badly paid jobs, many working on zero-hours
contracts. Time to enjoy with friends and family is increasingly squeezed as
mothers and fathers juggle the demands of work and caring for children and
often an older relative.
The problems mount for the next generation too. Nearly one sixth of our
young people in Scotland are out of work. Many have lost the opportunity for
a second chance at college because of the SNPs cuts, and bursary support for
our poorest young people who want to go to university has gone into reverse.
Our young men and women have been shut out of the housing market and too
often they are forced to leave the communities where they were brought up.
12
building a better future for scotland and the uk
Our economy and our system of government are failing too many people.
Many have come to believe that politics ignores the things that matter to them.
Too much power is unaccountable, concentrated in the market and the state,
at the expense of individuals and their communities. Devolution has been a
great success story in Scotland, but we now need to look to the next stage
of devolution - more power for the Scottish Parliament as well as decisions
brought closer to people in their villages, towns and cities.
Many of these problems have been mounting for many years. Some, like the
rise of inequality, are felt in countries all around the world. So the Conservatives
did not cause all of them but they have made them far worse. Their view is that
economic success depends just on a few at the top. They think that insecurity
will make people work harder and that low pay is the only way to be competitive
in the global market. They dont believe we can afford decent public services
when times are hard. They have been giving power to large unaccountable
firms rather than to people, and now they want to make deeper cuts in the next
three years than we have seen in the last five years.
There are some who believe there is nothing we can do to change things for
the better. They feel powerless. They are losing faith that those with power
will ever listen to them. We understand these feelings. But we believe we can
renew our country and make a better future for working people. We have
learned the lessons of the past. We were in government for thirteen years and
left the country a far better place to live in. But we did not get everything right.
We have learned and we have changed.
Labour is renewing our traditions as the Party of work, family and community.
We believe in a society of trust and mutual obligation, in which we look after
the vulnerable, and people can bring up their families with hope for a better
future. And we believe in helping people to help themselves, both to improve
their own communities, and to achieve their ambitions.
t h e s c o t t i s h l a b o u r p a r t y m a n i f e s t o 2015
13
We are also the Party of equality. We believe that no person should suffer
discrimination or a lack of opportunity. The decisions we take in government
will always be taken with this in mind. The policies in our manifesto will help
remove the barriers that stand in the way of greater equality. We know we
achieve more when we work together to challenge inequalities of power and
build a common good.
In this election, the country has a choice. We can continue with a Conservative
plan based on the view that success comes only from a privileged few at the top.
Or we can change direction, begin to return power to people and build an economy
together in which everyone can contribute to a shared and enduring prosperity.
As the economy at last recovers, people want the opportunity to use their
skills and talents to make a better life for themselves and their children.
Our countrys greatest asset is the hard work and talent of our people.
Labours plan is to build firm economic foundations for creating wealth,
rewarding hard work and competing in the world.
We will balance the books by cutting the deficit every year, with a surplus on
the current budget and with national debt falling as soon as possible in the
next Parliament. This will need common sense spending reductions, outside
of the protected areas of health, education and international development.
We will ask those with incomes over 150,000 a year to contribute a little more
through a 50p rate of tax. And we will build the high-skill, high-wage economy
we need to raise tax revenues and control social security spending.
14
We will improve the security and reward of working life by raising the National
Minimum Wage to more than 8 an hour by October 2019, banning exploitative
zero-hours contracts and promoting the Living Wage. We will create more
paths to success for our young people by introducing a 1600 Future Fund to
give them the best start in life. And for those at university, we will maintain free
tuition and restore the value of bursaries for the poorest students.
We will help with household bills by freezing energy prices until 2017 while
reforming the broken energy market. And we will make sure that at least 20,000
new homes a year are built by 2020, and that private renters get a fairer deal.
The Bedroom Tax is cruel and we will abolish it.
We will protect Scotlands National Health Service. The NHS in Scotland is
already struggling with missed waiting times and a crisis in our Accident and
Emergency departments. We will use the proceeds of a UK wide Mansion Tax
to fund more spending in our NHS, including 1,000 extra nurses. And we will
ensure that TTIP does not allow privatisation of our NHS by the back door.
The common life we share is who we are as a country. Not everyone is the
same, but each of us sharing a sense of belonging, being valued equally and
being able to contribute to the common good. Immigration has made an
important contribution to our economic and social life, but it needs to be
properly controlled. With a Labour government, migrants from the EU will not
be able to claim benefits until they have lived here for at least two years. We will
make it illegal to undercut wages by exploiting migrant workers, and work to
strengthen integration within our communities. Everyone who works with the
public in our public services must be able to speak English.
15
Being safe is essential for a happy and secure life. We all want to keep our
families safe and we want our communities to be the best places for our children
to grow up. That cant happen while antisocial behaviour and violence are still
part of our lives. Scotlands police officers serve our country brilliantly but trust
in Police Scotland has been damaged. We will restore that trust. We will pursue
preventative measures to stop people from re-offending or offending in the
first place and ensure our justice system puts victims first and that sentences
deliver proper rehabilitation.
People across Scotland want a more powerful Scottish Parliament. Labour is
the party of devolution and we are proud of creating the Scottish Parliament.
We will implement the Smith Agreement in full to ensure that the Scottish
Parliament has the final say on benefits in Scotland. The extensive new powers
over tax, jobs and welfare will mean that the Scottish Parliament is one of the
most powerful devolved parliaments in the world. But we will not seek power
for powers sake we will use it to change the lives of people across our country.
Devolution cannot stop at the Scottish Parliament. It has to extend to every
village, town and city across Scotland. We will deliver more City Deals across
the country and devolve more power to our rural and island communities. We
will convene a citizens constitutional convention made up of representatives
from across the whole of the UK to reform the UKs unwritten constitution and
we will abolish the House of Lords, replacing it with an elected Senate of the
Nations and Regions.
16
Our country faces global challenges of climate change, terrorism and the spread
of disease. In particular, tackling climate change is an economic necessity and
the most important thing we must do for our children, our grandchildren and
future generations. A Labour government will face up to these challenges
and re-engage with the world. We will build alliances in Europe, promoting
our countrys interests and security, and standing up for human rights and
social justice. We will work to reform the European Union and we will retain our
membership of it.
Labours plan for national renewal will bring about real, meaningful change that
each person will be able to feel in their daily life. We know that to make Britain
a better country, opportunity must belong to everyone and not just a few. We
will lend a helping hand to all those who need it, but we will also ask more of
individuals and communities. We can only rebuild our country if everyone plays
their part and feels they have a stake in society.
We believe in living within our means. We will not make promises we cannot
keep, and we will not introduce changes unless they are funded. There is not
a single policy in this manifesto that is funded by additional borrowing. Not a
single one.
Our plan is to build a secure, prosperous and more equal country open to the
world, in which everyone has the opportunity to get on and to do their best.
We will provide strong and effective government but everyone will need to
contribute and play their part. It will be hard, but working together we can do it.
17
18
Fabbiha, student
19
e will build
an economy
that works for
working people
e know a simple truth. Scotland only succeeds when working

families succeed. It is how our country has won through in the
past and how it will succeed in the future. But so many people are putting
in the hours and not seeing the rewards. That is why there is a cost of
living crisis. Our first task in government is to change our economy so
that it works for all of our businesses and working people.
People are working harder, but dont feel better off. They put in the hours
but dont see the rewards. Labour believes Scotland succeeds when
working families succeed.
The Conservatives think that the economy is fixed and that things in our
country are as good as they can be. We believe that without reform to our
economy the future will belong to the few not to the many.
The SNP believe in cutting us off from pooling and sharing resources
across the United Kingdom with their plan for Full Fiscal Autonomy. This
would mean an end to the Barnett formula and the block grant which has
served Scotland well for generations. We believe that we are best facing
the challenges of the future together.
For most of the 20th century, there was a vital link between the success
of the country and family finances. As the country got better off, so did
working people. But the link between the success of the country and the
family budget has been broken. Since 2010 working people are earning on
average 1,600 less a year after inflation. We have seen the greatest fall in
wages over a parliament since 1874.
Over 400,000 people in Scotland are in low-paid jobs, earning less than
the Living Wage. 82% of new jobs in Scotland are in low paid industries.
There are at least 60,000 zero-hours contracts. 45% of all those in poverty
live in working households.
22
building an economy that works for working people
This cost-of-living crisis is bad for families, bad for business and bad for
Scotland. Lower levels of pay have meant lower tax receipts and higher
spending on social security.
We will have to work and earn our way toward a more fairly shared and
enduring prosperity. Scotland is a great commercial nation that has been
at the centre of global trade for centuries. We have a long tradition of
innovation and enterprise. We have been quick to seize the opportunities of
the internet. We have big strengths to build upon: world-leading universities,
an outstanding science research base, an open economy with one of the
highest rates of foreign direct investment in the world, and many successful
global companies.
An inclusive wealth-creating economy works when there is a shared sense
of responsibility, so we will be a government that is both pro-business and
pro-worker. We value all our businesses as organisations of innovation and
wealth production and we will work strategically with them to create wealth.
We value our trade unions as an essential force for a decent society and as
guarantors of skills and fair wages.
A Strong Economic Foundation

The next Labour Government will balance the books. We will only lay a Budget
before the House of Commons once the OBR has certified that it cuts the
deficit every year. We will deliver a surplus on the current budget and the
national debt falling as soon as possible in the next Parliament and these
fiscal commitments will not be compromised. We will tackle the root causes
of the deficit by building a more productive economy with living standards
that rise year-on-year.
The Conservative-led Government promised to balance the books in this
Parliament. But this promise has been broken. The Conservatives will leave
the country borrowing over 75 billion this year.
23
Labours plan to balance the books means making tough, but fairer choices.
We will reverse the Governments top rate tax cut so that the highest one
per cent of earners, with incomes of over 150,000, contribute a little more
to help get the deficit down. We will stop paying Winter Fuel Payments to
the richest five per cent of pensioners, and cap child benefit rises for two
years. Outside of the protected areas of health, education and international
development there will be cuts in spending. UK Ministerial pay will be cut and
then frozen until we have balanced the books. All proceeds from the sale of
our stakes in Lloyds and RBS will be used to repay the national debt.
We will live within our means. We have no proposals for any new spending
paid for by additional borrowing. We will secure the best deal for the new
borrowing powers of the Scottish Parliament so we can invest in the future.
All of our commitments will be paid for by reducing spending elsewhere or
by raising extra revenue. For example, we will introduce a tax on properties
worth over 2 million to help raise 200 million a year for Scotland, part of
our plan to save and improve the health service. We will legislate to require all
major parties to have their manifesto commitments independently audited
by the Office for Budget Responsibility at each general election.
We will cap structural social security expenditure in each spending review
so that it is properly controlled. We will implement the proposals of Labours
Zero-Based Review, which has already identified savings we will make through
reforming old government bureaucracies, devolving power and services
to our towns and cities, and redesigning public services, and which we will
continue in government. We will invest to prevent social problems rather
than waste money reacting to them. And we will use digital technology to
create a more responsive, devolved, and less costly system of government.
24
Fairer taxes
We will create a fairer tax system, helping those on middle and lower
incomes by introducing a lower 10p starting rate of tax, paid for by ending
the Conservatives Marriage Tax Allowance. We will not increase the basic
or higher rates of Income Tax or National Insurance. Nor will we raise VAT,
and we renew our pledge not to extend it to food, childrens clothes, books,
newspapers or public transport fares.
Our first Finance Bill will close the tax loopholes that cost the Exchequer
billions of pounds a year. We will introduce tougher penalties for those abusing
the tax system, end unfair tax breaks used by hedge funds and others, and
bear down on disguised employment. We will seek international agreement
to make country-by-country reporting information publicly available, and we
will act at home if agreement is not reached. British Overseas Territories and
Crown Dependencies will be required to produce publicly available registries
of the real owners of companies based there.
We will carry out an immediate review into the culture and practices of HMRC
so that everyone follows the same rules and we increase the rigour of the tax
system. And we will abolish non-dom status so that those who make the UK
their home pay tax in the same way as the rest of us.
It is by tackling tax avoidance in this concerted fashion that we can reduce the
deficit and protect the family budgets of working people.
Improving productivity
and a new industrial strategy
Labour will improve productivity by building a long-term investment culture in
the private and public sectors, and supporting small businesses to grow into
the British success stories of the future. With Labour, Britain will continue to
have the most competitive rate of Corporation Tax in the G7.
25
Building world-class infrastructure will be crucial to fostering economic

growth. We will create certainty for investors by taking a long-term approach
to the major investment decisions facing the country. We will set up an
independent National Infrastructure Commission to assess how best to meet
our infrastructure needs. It will make recommendations to government,
monitor their implementation, and hold government to account. These
measures and our long-term approach will help reinforce Scotland's status
as one of the worlds greatest centres of science and engineering.
We will continue to support the construction of High Speed Two, but keep
costs down. This will provide an important new connection to Scotland
from England. At the same time, we will use the new powers of the Smith
Commission to legislate to allow a Peoples Scotrail, to make sure profits
from our railways are reinvested in better services and cheaper fares, not
lining the pockets of shareholders.
Britains airport capacity is vital for Scotlands economy, with airports in
London and the South East of England serving as gateways for Scotlands
exports and people. Following the Davies Review, we will make a swift decision
on expanding airport capacity in London and the South East, balancing the
need for growth and the environmental impact.
Scientific discovery and technological innovation will drive economic
advancement this century. We will introduce a new long-term funding policy
framework for science and innovation, providing the stability and continuity
that our companies and research institutes need to succeed.
Scotland has already benefited from the expansion of the green economy and
low carbon technologies. We will work to make Britain a world leader in low
carbon technologies over the next decade, creating a million additional green
jobs across the UK by 2025, at least 100,000 of them in Scotland. This aim
will be supported by ambitious domestic carbon reduction targets, including
a legal target to remove the carbon from our electricity supply by 2030, and
a major drive for energy efficiency.
26
Our industrial strategy for the green economy will end the current uncertainty
for investors, with a timetable for the Green Investment Bank, headquartered
in Edinburgh, to be given additional powers, so that it can invest in green
businesses and technology. We will create an Energy Security Board to plan
and deliver the energy mix we need, including renewables, nuclear, green gas
and carbon capture and storage and clean coal.
For onshore unconventional oil and gas, we will commit to a triple lock
against fracking by establishing a robust environmental and regulatory
regime, ensuring any environmental concerns are addressed, and give
local communities the final say before any extraction can take place. And to
safeguard the future of the offshore oil and gas industry, we will provide a
long-term strategy for the industry, including more certainty on tax rates, and
making the most of the potential for carbon storage.
Where there is an impact on local communities because of job losses in the
North Sea, Scottish Labour is committed to helping communities through the
worst effects, with a resilience fund to support local communities.
Labours longer-term approach will drive innovation and build on our
strengths as a leader in digital technology. We are just at the start of the
internet revolution. Digital technology has transformed start-up costs, making
it easier to run your own business. There is a widening in the application of
new transformative technologies in the fields of robotics, genetics, 3D printing
and Big Data. Our economy is developing a network of connections that will
revolutionise innovation.
We will ensure that all parts of the country benefit from affordable, high speed
broadband by the end of the Parliament. We will work with the industry and
the regulator to maximise private sector investment and deliver the mobile
infrastructure needed to extend coverage and reduce 'not spots', including in
areas of market failure. And we will support community-based campaigns to
reduce the proportion of citizens unable to use the internet and help those who
need it to get the skills to make the most of digital technology.
27
Britains economy is being held back by the culture of short-termism which is a

major obstacle to the development of productive businesses and industries. We
will reform corporate governance to protect our leading firms from the pressure
to put tomorrows share price before long-term growth potential.
Institutional investors will have a duty to act in the best interests of ordinary
savers. They will have to prioritise long-term growth over short-term profits for
the companies in which they are investing. We will change takeover rules to
enhance the role of long-term investors by restricting voting to those already
holding shares when a bid is made. In addition we will strengthen the public
interest test.
We will improve the link between executive pay and performance by simplifying
pay packages and requiring investment and pension fund managers to
disclose how they vote on top pay. And we will make sure employees have
a voice when executive pay is set by requiring employee representation on
remuneration committees.
In this way we can start to create an economy based on mutual obligations,
encouraging employers and employees to build partnerships for improving
both business performance and job quality. Outdated practices, like
blacklisting, have no place in a modern economy.
Our charities, mutuals, cooperatives and social enterprises are pioneering
new models of production that enhance social value, promote financial
inclusion, and give individuals and communities power and control. We will
continue to support and help develop the social economy by improving access
for co-operative and mutual organisations to growth finance through the
new British Investment Bank. And we will consider how to support employee
buy-outs when businesses are being sold.
We will safeguard the public interest in the Royal Mail, supporting the creation
of a staff led trust for the employee share, and keeping the remaining 30 per
cent in public ownership. We will also support the universal service obligation,
which is so important for Scotlands rural communities, ensuring competition
does not undermine it and introducing protections as necessary.
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Backing small business

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Their creativity and
dynamism are vital for raising productivity and competing in the global
economy. We will address rising costs for small businesses and strengthen
rules on late payment.
We will develop a banking system that works for every sector and every part of
our country. The long-standing problems of our banking system mean that too
many small and medium-sized businesses cannot get the finance they need to
invest and grow.
Labour will establish a British Investment Bank with the mission to help
businesses grow and to create wealth and jobs. It will have the resources to
improve access to finance for small and medium-sized businesses, and will
support a network of regional banks.
We will increase competition on the high street. Following the Competition
and Market Authorities inquiry we want a market share test and at least two
new challenger banks. And we will deal with the scourge of household debt
by introducing a new levy on payday lenders, using the funds raised to boost
low cost alternatives like credit unions.
Better work and better pay

Scotlands route to prosperity and higher living standards is through more
secure and better paid jobs. But Conservative policies are causing whole
sectors of the economy to be dragged into a race to the bottom on wages
and skills. The Government has weakened employment rights and promoted
a hire-and-fire culture. Labour believes our economy can only succeed in
a race to the top, competing in the world with better work, better pay and
better skills.
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Too many people do a hard days work but remain dependent on benefits. We
will raise the National Minimum Wage to more than 8 an hour by October
2019, bringing it closer to average earnings. We will devolve more power
to the Scottish Government and Scottish local authorities to strengthen
enforcement against those paying less than the legal amount. And we will
support employers to pay more by using government procurement to
promote the Living Wage, alongside wider social impact considerations.
Our Make Work Pay contracts will give tax rebates to businesses that sign
up to paying the Living Wage in the first year of a Labour Government. We will
establish a Living Wage Unit in the Scottish Government to promote the Living
Wage and will work with employers and trade unions to extend the uptake of the
Living Wage, particularly in the private sector. Publicly listed companies will be
required to report on whether or not they pay the Living Wage.
It is hard for Scotland to succeed when employees feel insecure and employers are
undercut by those using exploitative working practices. Labour will ban exploitative
zero-hours contracts. Those who work regular hours for more than twelve weeks
will have a legal right to a regular contract. We will abolish the loophole that allows
firms to undercut permanent staff by using agency workers on lower pay.
The Conservatives have introduced fees of up to 1,200 for employment tribunal
claimants, creating a significant barrier to workplace justice. We will devolve
administration of tribunals to Scotland, and will review the system to ensure that
affordability is not a barrier to workers having proper access to justice, employers
get a quicker resolution, and the costs to the tax payer do not rise.
Labour is the party of work, and we value working life. We will push up
standards and boost productivity by implementing the commitments in
Scottish Labours Workplace and Business manifestos.
Supporting the next generation

Almost one in six of our young people are locked out of the labour market.
Too many of them dont have the skills they need for work. They are trapped in a
cycle, going from benefits to low-paid work and back again. Its not a life to aspire to
and imposes huge costs in terms of extra welfare spending and lower productivity.
30
Labour will tax bankers bonuses to get our young people back to work by
introducing a Scottish Jobs Guarantee for all of Scotlands young people. It will
provide a paid starter job and training for every 18 - 24 year old out of work for
over a year.
For those who choose to go to University, Labour will ensure that there will be
no tuition fees for Scottish residents. We will start to reverse the cuts to college
funding in Scotland with 100 million of investment. Support for our young people
should not just extend to those who choose to go to College or University. All
Scotlands young people deserve the best start in life. The next Labour Scottish
Government will establish a 1,600 Future Fund for every 18 and 19 year old
not in college, university, or undertaking a Modern Apprenticeship. This will be
funded by the Barnett consequentials resulting from cuts to tuition fees that
Labour will introduce in England.
Young people who do not have the skills they need should be in training, not
on benefits. We will replace out of work benefits for 18 to 21-year-olds with a
new Youth Allowance dependent on recipients being in training and targeted
at those who need it most.
We will support apprenticeships. Every firm getting a major UK Government
contract will be required to offer apprenticeships. Large employers hiring
skilled workers from outside the EU will have to offer apprenticeships, and
we will create thousands more apprenticeships in the public sector, including
the civil service. In Scotland, we will offer free bus travel to all apprentices.
We will tackle the growth of unpaid internships because thousands of highly
able young people who cannot afford to work for free are locked out of too
many of our professions.
Mending the markets that people rely on

Labour will stand up for working families and businesses against vested
interests. We will reform the broken markets that people rely on most so that
families and businesses get a fair deal.
31
Energy bills have risen by over 300 since 2010. Many businesses say energy
is the biggest cost they face. Lack of competition and transparency has
allowed the large energy companies to get away with increasing bills when
wholesale prices rise, but not cutting them when they fall. The regulator has
failed to take decisive action to protect consumers.
Labour will freeze energy bills until 2017, ensuring that bills can fall but not
rise, and we will give the regulator the power to cut bills this winter. During
the freeze, we will reform the energy market so that it delivers fairer prices
and a better deal for working families. The generation and supply businesses
of the Big Six energy companies will be separated. They will be required to
open up their books and they will have to sell their electricity through an
open exchange.
We will simplify energy tariffs and make it easier for people to compare
prices and so get the best deal. Small businesses will be protected by ending
unfair contracts and automatic rollovers to more expensive tariffs. A tough
new energy watchdog will enforce our reforms, with the power to strip
energy companies of their licences if they repeatedly harm the interests of
consumers and to protect off-grid households as well.
We will also take action to support the 197,000 people in Scotland who use off-grid
energy. We will bring off-grid energy under the remit of the new energy regulator,
and bring forward the payment of winter fuel allowance to allow pensioners using
off-grid energy in rural areas to take advantage of cheaper prices.
Labour will reform our transport system to deliver a better deal for passengers
and communities. Scotland has been let down by the franchising fiasco
for both the East and West Coast mainlines. We will review the franchising
process to ensure this fiasco is never repeated. And we will legislate so that
a public sector operator can take on lines and compete with private train
operating companies on a level playing field. This will apply to the franchises
for the East and West coast mainlines, and Scottish Labour will legislate to
allow for a Peoples Scotrail. Investment in rail such as Glasgows Crossrail is
exactly the kind of project for which the Scottish Parliaments new borrowing
powers are designed.
32
Labour will
Cut the deficit every year and balance the books.
Reverse the 50p tax cut.
Not increase the basic or higher rates of income tax, national insurance
or VAT.
Create one million new high technology, green jobs by 2025, at least
100,000 of them in Scotland.
Support jobs in the Oil and Gas industry.
Ensure there is no on-shore fracking unless local communities agree.
Increase the National Minimum Wage to at least 8 an hour before 2020.
Ban exploitative zero-hours contracts.
Maintain free tuition in our universities.
Introduce a 1600 Future Fund to give our young people the best start
in life.
Offer free bus travel to all apprentices.
Freeze energy bills until 2017 and give the regulator the power to cut
bills by winter.
33
34
t h e l a b o u r p a r t y m a n i f e s t o 2015
Professor Hugh Pennington
Sal, shop manager
35
Julie, accountant
e will provide
world class
health and education
services
veryday our incredible NHS staff, our nurses, doctors and paramedics
battle to save lives under enormous pressure. Our porters and
cleaners in Scottish hospitals keep our hospitals clean. And all too often
do not receive the thanks and gratitude they deserve. Our hard-working
teachers and support staff are passionate about their schools and their
communities, playing a fundamental role in inspiring and preparing our
young people for the rest of their lives. Scottish Labour recognises and
values the vital work that public sector workers do day in and day out
across Scotland, society is stronger as a result of the contribution our
public sector workers make.
The NHS
When we experience the joy at the birth of a child or the heartbreak at the
death of a loved one; or the injury from a clumsy fall or the anxiety about a
check-up for breast cancer - the NHS is always with us.
Creating the NHS is Labours greatest achievement and we have a plan to
strengthen it for the future. We will protect the NHS budget in Scotland
and deliver an additional 1billion investment raised through a UK-wide
mansion tax on properties worth over 2million, a levy on tobacco firms
and tackling tax avoidance. We will use this to fund 1,000 more NHS nurses
and 500 more GPs.
This is not only the right thing to do, to ensure our NHS is protected now
and in the future, but its also the fair thing to do. It can only be delivered by
the pooling and sharing of resources from across the UK.
38
providing world class health and education services
Our NHS is facing a crisis. Across Scotland, too many patients are waiting
for hours in our Accident and Emergency departments. NHS workers care
for them as if they were their own family. But there simply arent enough
of them to cope.
GPs surgeries are under-staffed and people are finding it harder to see a
GP. Scottish Labour will recruit 500 more GPs to serve the NHS providing
more out of hours appointments and making more home visits.
75% of nurses in Scotland say that there are not enough nurses for a functioning
health service. Our plan to recruit 1000 extra NHS nurses will put that right,
providing vital extra resources for our hospital wards, and by doubling the
number of specialist nurses we will improve care for the thousands of patients
living with chronic conditions such as Motor Neurone Disease.
Every year around 30,000 people in Scotland receive the devastating news
that they have been diagnosed with cancer. Our NHS has an excellent
record on beating cancer, but there is more that we can do.
Our Cancer Guarantee will help thousands of Scots who are going through
one of the most distressing and worrying times of their lives, and will make
sure that every person diagnosed with cancer in Scotland has access to the
best treatments and drugs available.
Diagnosing and treating cancer at the early stages can make a real difference
as treatments are often more effective. Scottish Labour will provide extra
support and training to help GPs spot the signs early. We will cut cancer
waiting times and have the best cancer survival rates in Europe.
39
We need to do more to focus on the challenge of mental health. One in four

Scots experience mental health problems at some point during their lives.
We all know someone who has been affected. Last year, the number of
young people in Scotland waiting more than a year to be treated by mental
health services increased 10-fold rising from 20 in December 2013 to 226
in December 2014.
We need to direct our resources to help these people. We should care as
much about people suffering mental ill health as we do about patients who
have a broken bone.
Ending the stigma, investing more and supporting people with mental
health problems, particularly in the workplace, is something we dont talk
about often in Scotland.
We will invest in Scotlands mental health resources through a new
200 million Mental Health Fund, helping those who need support and we will
improve child mental health by focusing on prevention and early intervention.
We will make sure that local authorities, the NHS and schools do more to
work together and help some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland.
To ensure that the Mental Health Fund is targeted where its needed most
we will consult with the Scottish Association for Mental Health, and seek
views from other stakeholders to support those experiencing mental health
issues in Scotland.
40
Care in Older Age

Many pressures faced by our NHS can be reduced by giving people more
and better care in their own homes. We support the integration of health
and social care.
It was the Labour-led Scottish Government that introduced free personal
care for anyone aged over 65 years old, who required it, whether in their
own home or a care home. Free personal care has given families a peace
of mind and a sense of dignity about what will happen in the future but we
must go further.
Scotland has an ageing population and more people are now living with
chronic conditions. This presents tough challenges challenges that Labour
has a plan to overcome.
The current system is too fragmented. Rather than having three separate
systems for dealing with physical, mental, and social care, we will create a
whole person approach. A single service which will meet all of a persons
health and care needs.
Vulnerable older people and those with complex needs will get a single
point of contact for their care. They and their families will be able to take
more control over their care with a personal plan designed with them and
shaped around their needs. They will also receive better information and
advice on managing their condition.
Only around half of care workers are paid for their travel between clients which
in effect leaves many workers earning beneath the minimum wage level.
41
We know the selfless work that care workers do. We recognise the hours,
days and weeks of work with the highest quality of care that they provide.
Scottish Labour will reward this hard work through our Make Work Pay
contracts which will support employers to pay care workers a Living Wage.
Education
Scotland has led the world in education and that is what we should aspire to
do again. Scotland still has a great education system. The people working in
our schools are talented and driven. Our children are smart and successful.
But our system needs to be a lot better.
The gap in educational opportunities between the prosperous and poor is not
improving. It is a scandal that some working class kids are being left behind by
the SNPs education policies.
At the same time, pupils from the wealthiest households are over six times
more likely to achieve the same grades.
At Scotlands universities, the bursaries available for the poorest young people
have been cut. Even if they manage to get to university, they face another
barrier with not nearly enough financial support, other than loans, available to
see them through.
Poorer students in Scotland receive the lowest levels of bursary anywhere in
the UK. The SNP have cut funds for bursaries and grants by over a third. At the
same time, spending on student loans increased by 69%.
42
For those young people who want to go to College, and not University, the cuts
to Scotlands colleges has deprived 140,000 potential students the opportunity
of further education.
Scottish Labour believes that our young people should be supported to get the
best start in life. No matter whether they decide to go to University, College or
go straight to work, all young people should get the best education at school
and then the support they need to have a productive life when school ends.
Scottish Labour will legislate to end educational inequality in a generation.
We will close the attainment gap by 2025 by investing 125 million more in
education over the course of the next Parliament to close the gap. We will
invest 36 million to improve the reading and writing ability of Scotlands
children. We will employ 200 literacy teachers and we will focus their work in
the communities with the twenty secondary schools and associated primary
schools where working class kids have been most left behind by the SNP
Government. And we will support the parents of these children to ensure they
have the reading and writing skills they need to support their children.
Too many children in Scotland start the day on an empty stomach. This affects
how they perform at school. Giving pupils a filling and healthy breakfast sets
them up for the day, improving their concentration and ability to learn. As
well as improving childrens health and tackling social inequalities, breakfast
clubs can improve childrens health, attendance, punctuality and educational
performance at school.
43
Funded by a UK-wide mansion tax, Scottish Labour will establish breakfast clubs in
the associated primary schools of the twenty secondary schools in Scotland facing
the greatest challenges. Our pilot programme will focus on raising standards and
tackling educational disadvantage at an early age and will be a model of success for
transforming under-achieving classrooms across Scotland.
We will re-introduce Chartered Teacher status to encourage excellence in the
teaching profession. And we will place a statutory obligation on the Scottish
Government to report progress annually to parliament and plan a similar obligation
on local authorities.
We also want all of our children to discover the joy of reading. We will establish
the First Minister's Reading Prize, modelled on the Premier's Reading Challenge
in South Australia, to encourage children to read.
Where best practice is identified, we should ensure it is spread through all
our schools. We will establish a National Centre of Excellence for Education
to ensure that best practice is shared, and that teachers, head teachers,
schools and local authorities learn from each other.
We will make Scotlands universities open and accessible for all and maintain
free university tuition. But we will go further. Access to higher education is
not just determined by the level of fees the best financial support possible
has to be provided. That is why we will reverse the SNPs cuts to student
bursaries for the poorest and reinstate them to their highest level.
Success for our young people should not be restricted to those who carry on
in further or higher education. Everyone should get the support they need
to succeed. We will create a 1600 Future Fund for every 18 and 19 year old
not in further or higher education or undertaking a Modern Apprenticeship.
44
This will give young working class people extra support to get a better start
in life. It will also provide employers with a powerful incentive to employ
more working class young people, with the Future Fund available to be
spent on training.
Labour will
Protect the NHS budget in Scotland and deliver an additional 1 billion
investment to fund 1000 extra NHS nurses and 500 extra GPs.
Create a Cancer Fund worth 200 million to ensure patients have
access to the best treatments and drugs available.
Create a new Mental Health Fund worth 200 million to invest in
Scotlands mental health services focusing on prevention and early
intervention.
Maintain free tuition at Scotlands universities.
Reverse SNP cuts to HE bursaries and reinstate them to their highest
level for the poorest students.
Introduce a 1600 Future Fund for everyone not in College, University
or a Modern Apprenticeship, to give them the best start in life.
Invest 125 million in our schools to help working class kids.
End educational inequality in a generation.
Place a statutory obligation on the Scottish Government to report the
gap between children from lower and higher income backgrounds.
Establish breakfast clubs in Scottish schools facing the most challenges.
45
Pauline,
teacher and family
47
Carson, Dad and Sadie
e will help our

families and
communities to thrive
s a country we value compassion, tolerance and a sense of decency.

But pressures on family life, growing inequality, anxieties about crime,
anti-social behaviour and a widespread loss of trust in our governing
institutions are creating insecurity in many communities.
Labour believes a decent society grows out of family life and relationships, out
of the work we do, and the local places to which we belong. We will help to
create a more secure and inclusive society by building and strengthening the
institutions that help individuals, families and communities to thrive.
Supporting families and relationships

Peoples relationships bind society together, and the family, in all its
various shapes and sizes, is its bedrock. But low pay, and the pressures of
work and caring for children and elder relatives have put families under
increasing pressure.
In 2011, there was one Trussell Trust food bank in Scotland - as of November
2014, there were 48 in 27 Scottish local authorities. We will make food
banks history in Scotland by making work pay, ending government targets
on benefit sanctions and protecting the vulnerable. We will set up a 175
million Scottish Anti-Poverty Fund.
We will consult widely on ensuring the reality of an affordable, flexible and
accessible childcare system for working families in Scotland. And we will
invest in the skills of our childcare workforce, transforming it into a more
valued profession, staffed with qualified childcare practitioners and support
employers to pay the Living Wage.
We will take a whole-family approach to policy making, supporting
relationships, and the involvement of fathers, grandparents and relatives
involved in the care, education and health of children.
50
helping our families and communities to thrive
More fathers want to play an active role in their childrens lives and families want
to spend more time together with a new baby. So we will double the current
two weeks of paternity leave to four and increase the amount of paternity pay
from 140 to more than 260 a week. Many grandparents want to be more
involved in caring for their grandchildren, and we will support them in doing so.
As a result of this Governments failures, the commitment to ending child
poverty by 2020 is very unlikely to be met. However, we will never forget how
important a decent basic income is to childrens prospects and wellbeing. That
is why we will keep the child poverty targets and ask the Office for Budget
Responsibility to monitor and report on progress.
Building new homes

The SNP Government has presided over the lowest number of houses built
in Scotland since 1947. A lack of new houses means that many people,
including a large number of young people, cannot buy a house or have to
move far away from the community where they grew up.
For the increasing number of people who are renting in the private sector,
they are facing the spiralling costs of renting and the insecurity of shortterm leases.
Scottish Labour believes that everyone should have access to a safe, warm
and affordable home.
We will deal with Scotlands housing crisis by building 20,000 new homes
a year in Scotland by 2020 and we will use the new powers over housing
benefit to design a new system of housing benefit in Scotland to better
reflect Scotlands needs.
Scotland led the way, under a Labour administration, on tightening the
controls on private landlords. We will continue to fight for a better deal for
people in the private rented sector. We will limit rent reviews to one per
year and control rent rises and will reform tenancy agreements to provide
greater security for both landlords and tenants.
51
Restoring social security

Scotland needs a responsible and fair social security system that provides
security when people lose their jobs or fall sick, and a decent income when they
retire. Scots have always believed in the principle of contribution, rewarding
those who pay in, helping people get back on their feet, and providing support
in times of need.
Labour believes in the principle of pooling and sharing across the UK. That is
why our social security system is backed by millions of taxpayers in Britain. We
will devolve more power over social security to the Scottish Parliament, giving
the Scottish Parliament the final say over benefit levels in Scotland. In doing so,
we will never undermine the ability to pool and share across the country.
To guarantee a decent social security system for the next generation, we
need to keep costs under control. Under this Government, the increase in low
pay has left working families more reliant on tax credits and housing benefit,
pushing up the social security bill.
We will keep the household benefit cap and ask the Social Security Advisory
Committee to examine if it should be lower in some areas. And we will cap
structural social security spending as part of each spending review, so that it is
properly planned and controlled.
Labour believes in rewarding work and in restoring contribution to the heart of
our system. So we will not cut tax credits. We want everyone who can to have
the chance to contribute through paid work, so we will create a more tailored
back-to-work system that helps people secure and keep jobs. We will do more
to help unemployed people get the skills they need for work, testing jobseekers
maths, English and IT skills within six weeks of them claiming benefits. They will
be required to take up training where this will improve their chances of getting
a job. We support the principle behind Universal Credit - that there should be
a smooth transition into work - but it must be affordable and fit for purpose so
we will pause and review the programme.
52
There will be a guaranteed, paid job for all young people who have been out
of work for one year, and for all those over twenty five and out of work for
two years. It will be a job that they have to take, or lose their benefits. We
will introduce a higher rate of Job Seekers Allowance for those who have
contributed over years. It will be funded by extending the length of time people
need to have worked to qualify.
Supporting disabled people to live independently

Alongside strong and responsive public services, the social security system plays
an important role in supporting many disabled people to live independently,
and must always treat sick and disabled people with dignity.
Over two thirds of those affected by the bedroom tax are disabled or have a
disabled family member. It is cruel, and we will abolish it.
We will reform the Work Capability Assessment and focus it on the support
disabled people need to get into work. We will give an independent scrutiny
group of disabled people a central role in monitoring it. And we will introduce
a specialist support programme to ensure that disabled people who can work
get more tailored help.
Older people
We are committed to older people living a fulfilling life, and to enjoy a secure
retirement. Older people have contributed all their lives and built the Scotland
that the next generation inherit. So it is right that they are supported with a
fair and sustainable pensions system, responsive health services and a system
of care over which they have control. We will keep the triple-lock so that the state
pension increases by inflation, earnings, or 2.5 per cent, whichever is highest. And
while increases in the state retirement age are necessary to keep our pensions
system affordable, we will ensure that people have time to plan for changes.
53
We have taken the tough choice to restrict Winter Fuel Payments for the
richest five per cent of pensioners, but we will guarantee that there will be no
additional changes to the Winter Fuel Payments, free TV licences, or bus passes
for pensioners in Scotland.
Alongside a decent state pension we must ensure private pensions are good
value for those who have saved. We will reform the pensions market so that
pension providers put savers first, and protect consumers from retirement ripoffs. We support greater flexibility for those drawing down their pension pots,
but there must be proper guidance for people to avoid mis-selling
Controlling immigration with fair rules

For our country to stay strong, with the confidence to look outwards rather
than inwards, people need to feel secure in the strength of our borders, our
communities and in the workplace.
Britain has seen historically high levels of immigration in recent years, including
low skilled migration, which has given rise to public anxiety about its effects on
wages, on our public services and on our shared way of life.
Despite the Conservatives promise to reduce net migration to tens of
thousands, it is now higher than it was when David Cameron entered Downing
Street. Broken promises erode trust.
Labour will never cut Scotland off from the rest of the world. Our economy
and our society benefit from the talent and investment of people who come
here, including university students coming to study. But the system needs
to be controlled and managed so that it is fair. Low skilled migration has
been too high and needs to come down. We need much stronger action to
stop illegal immigration.
54
Labours plan starts with stronger borders. We will recruit an additional 1,000
borders staff paid for by a small charge on non-visa visitors to the UK. We
will introduce stronger controls to prevent those who have committed serious
crimes coming to Britain and to deport those who commit crimes while they
are here. We will introduce full exit checks, so that we can count people in
and out of the country. Short-term student visitor visas have dramatically
increased, so we will tighten the system to prevent abuse, whilst welcoming
overseas university students who bring billions into Britain. And we will keep
the cap on workers from outside the EU.
We need fair rules at work to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers,
which undercuts local wages and increases demand for further low skilled
migration. Labour will introduce a new law to stop employers undercutting
wages by exploiting workers. We will ban recruitment agencies from hiring only
from overseas and crack down on rogue agencies by extending the remit of the
Gangmasters Licensing Authority where there is evidence of abuse.
We need to strengthen our social integration and ensure that migrants can
play their part in British society. People working in public services in public
facing roles will be required to speak English. Those who come here will not be
able to claim benefits for at least two years, and we will stop child benefit being
sent to families living abroad.
We will enforce immigration rules humanely and effectively. We will end
the indefinite detention of people in the asylum and immigration system,
ending detention for pregnant women and those who have been the victims
of sexual abuse or trafficking. And we will ensure Britain continues its proud
history of providing refuge for those fleeing persecution by upholding
our international obligations, including working with the UN to support
vulnerable refugees from Syria.
55
Safer communities
Being safe is essential for living happy, secure lives for everyone. We all want
to keep our families safe and we want our communities to be the best places
for our children to grow up. That cant happen while antisocial behaviour and
violence are still part of our lives.
In too many towns and cities across Scotland, crime still impacts on peoples
lives. We need to do everything we can to make our communities safer.
Our approach is based around three principles: responsive, accountable and
visible local policing; preventative measures to stop people from re-offending
or offending in the first place and justice that puts victim first with rehabilitation
that delivers results.
Scottish Labour believes that the best way to keep our communities safe is
through responsive, accountable and visible local policing. Cuts to policing in
Scotland have meant that civilian support staff have been lost and roles have
been backfilled by taking officers away from frontline duties.
The routine arming of police officers on Scotlands streets should never have
been allowed to take place.
Cuts to local police stations and the closure of local control rooms have
damaged the connection between people in their communities and the
police. Allegations of unfounded searches on adults and children to meet
unduly high stop and search targets have harmed the publics confidence
in Police Scotland.
Scottish Labour believes in policing by consent. Confidence in Police
Scotland has been damaged by recent events, and more must be done to
restore that confidence.
56
Scottish Labour will review the Police and Fire Rescue Service Reform Act.
We will introduce measures that give communities the opportunity to be
involved in how their policing is delivered and how the service is held locally
accountable. We want the police to work with the communities they serve
and be open about the budgets allocated for each local authority. We want
to ensure greater transparency on the numbers of police officers and staff to
ensure that the objectives of local police plans and community needs are met.
By the time people have reached the criminal justice system, so much damage
has already been done. We should be taking preventative measures to stop
people from offending in the first place by intervening at an earlier stage.
Labour believes that young people with a history of offending and living
in communities with a high crime rate should be identified and supported
through local educational activities. They should also receive support to ensure
they stay in full time education or in training.
For the justice system to work, victims need to be able to report crimes free
from fear. We will support advocacy projects for victims of crime, to provide
them with independent advocacy and counsel when required. In particular, this
will be a platform to support victims of sexual offences and domestic abuse.
The SNPs cuts to legal aid have made it more difficult for working people to
access justice. The closure of sheriff courts and Justice of the Peace courts will,
again, make it more difficult for people to access justice locally. There needs to
be a full review of local access to justice and the impact of these closures.
Too often, the Scottish Government rushes to attempt a solution without
fully understanding the possible consequences of their actions. The rushed
attempt to abolish corroboration demonstrated that attitude. Warnings from
professionals were ignored and they ultimately had to halt their plans and set
up a review group.
In a similar way, the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act showed the
consequence of rushing to a solution without fully understanding the problem.
Scottish Labour believes that sectarianism still scars our country, but we will
not solve it by criminalising football fans in this way.
57
Scottish Labour will repeal the Act. We will tackle sectarianism through
education and prevention, working with anti-sectarianism charities, churches,
football authorities and fans to develop positive and practical evidence based
measures to stamp out sectarianism in Scotland once and for all.
We also support the lifting of the ban on the sale of alcohol inside Scotland's
football grounds. Initially, this should be piloted in a limited way to inform a
wider roll out across Scotland.
Community sentences are not sufficient punishment for serious crimes. Prisons
must be places where criminals are not just punished, but also rehabilitated.
The measure of success for our prison system should be reductions in levels of
reoffending, not the number of people we are jailing.
In some cases, it will be better to provide community based alternatives to
custody. Scottish Labour, along with many in Scottish civil society and prison
reform campaigners, campaigned successfully to scrap the building of the
womens Super Prison in Scotland.
Scottish Labour believes that when mothers are imprisoned, the impact is
wider than an individual. Children and families suffer. We will implement
the recommendations of the Angiolini report on women's offending. Where
appropriate, we will focus on community based alternatives to custody such
as community justice centres, ensuring perpetrators are held to account,
that justice is served, but importantly, that rehabilitation is not sacrificed and
families do not suffer.
Ending violence against girls and women

Across the UK, 750,000 children a year witness domestic violence. Stopping
violence against women and girls is a priority for Scottish Labour. In Scotland,
two women a week are killed by a current or former male partners.
We will create a Womens Aid specific fund of 2.3 million to ensure the
doors of local womens aid centres are able to remain open for victims of
domestic abuse.
58
We will ensure that the justice system works for victims of rape, supporting women
to come forward and training police officers in dealing with the issue sensitively
and without judgment. We will introduce specific domestic abuse courts within
Scotlands sheriff courts.
We will deliver a Scotland wide education campaign reaching every household
in the country, which challenges victim-blaming attitudes.
Tackling the threat from extremism

The threat from Islamist extremism is increasing. Hundreds of British citizens
have joined Islamic State a movement that has engaged in savage violence,
and racial and religious hatred.
The British people have faced down terrorist threats before and will do so
again, standing united together, not allowing ourselves to be divided.
With Labour, the security services will have the powers they need to disrupt
and tackle terrorism. The Government were wrong to weaken counter terror
powers by scrapping Control Orders. With Labour, dangerous suspects will be
subject to proper controls.
Every government department will be engaged in the work of preventing
extremism and fighting terrorism. We will implement a much more rigorous
strategy for dealing with people returning from the Syrian conflict. Alongside
appropriate police action and prosecution, it will be mandatory for anyone
returning to engage in a de-radicalisation programme designed to confront
them with the consequences of their actions.
We will need to update our investigative laws to keep up with changing
technology, strengthening both the powers available and the safeguards
that protect peoples privacy. This is why Labour argued for an independent
review, currently being undertaken by David Anderson. We will strengthen the
oversight of our intelligence agencies to make sure the public can continue to
have confidence in the vital work that they do to keep us safe.
59
To defeat the threats of Islamist terrorism we must also engage with the personal,
cultural and wider factors that turn young people to extremism. The Prevent
programme was set up under the last Labour Government to stop young people
becoming radicalised. But this Government has cut the funding and narrowed its
focus. Much of the work to engage Muslim communities has been lost.
We will overhaul the programme to involve communities in countering
extremist propaganda, stopping young people being groomed, and building
resilient institutions for social integration. We applaud those faith communities
who have pioneered inter-faith dialogue for the common good.
We will take a zero-tolerance approach to hate crime, such as anti-Semitism
and Islamophobia. We will challenge prejudice before it grows, whether in
schools, universities or on social media. And we will strengthen the law on
disability, homophobic and transphobic hate crime.
Culture and the arts

Scotland is rich in art and culture. We are known around the world for this.
Our museums are some of the best in the world. Our festivals from Celtic
Connections to the Fringe, from the Borders Book Festival to the Orkney Folk
Festival are a showcase for the best art and culture that Scotland, Britain and
the world have to offer. The Edinburgh Festival is Britains national festival.
Art and culture belong to us all. It should not be the property of one class, one
party or one part of the country. It should allow us all to celebrate what we
have in common, and for the rest of the world it should be a window into what
Scotland has to offer.
We will maintain free access to Scotlands museums and galleries, and continue
to ensure that young people are encouraged and supported to visit.
60
Scotland can be a world leader in the new creative industries from new media
to gaming. The industries are already a significant economic force in Edinburgh,
Glasgow and Dundee. We will support the creative industries and build on that
success across the country.
We will create a Prime Minister's Committee on the Arts, Culture and Creative
Industries, with membership drawn from all sectors and parts of the UK. The
Committee will bring issues of concern direct to the attention of the Prime Minister.
We will use the powers from the Smith Commission to stop the spread of Fixed
Odds Betting Terminals and we will set up a commission to examine the impact
of gambling in deprived communities across Scotland.
Sport
Sport is part of Scotlands DNA. From football to golf to rugby, Scotland has
a rich sporting culture. And the legacy of 2014s Commonwealth Games is a
significant boost to Scotlands sporting infrastructure.
Scotland must aim to increase participation in sport and exercise, for our
enjoyment, fitness and maintaining good health.
Club sport is the hub of sports activity in our communities. Making it easier
for local sports clubs to access the school estate and better local facilities for
training and recreation is a priority for Scottish Labour.
Scottish Labour will build pathways for people for whom exercise and sport has
not been part of their lives. From using gentle exercise for disease prevention
and recovery to promoting active participation in sports clubs and regular
exercise, Scottish Labour will support projects that encourage people into
exercise and healthy habits.
61
Protecting our environment

Scottish Labour will make sustainable development and environmental justice
key priorities and will ensure that climate change targets are met. We want
communities in Scotland and across the world to benefit from us taking climate
justice seriously.
We will use the new powers of the Scottish Parliament to devolve
the administration and revenues of the Crown Estate to ensure local
communities can manage and develop their own seabed and foreshore.
This builds on Scottish Labours record of pioneering the community right
to buy when we were last in power, and will open up significant economic
benefit to our island and rural communities.
The impact of fracking on our natural landscape and the quality of our
environment has been raised across the country. Scottish Labour believes
there should be strong protections in place to ensure that fracking is safe.
Until those protections are in place, no fracking should take place in Scotland.
Scottish Labour will also give the final say on fracking to local communities with
a local referendum before final planning approval is given. This will mean that
local people across Scotland will have the choice of whether to have fracking
take place near their homes.
62
Labour will:
Establish a 175 million Scottish Anti-Poverty Fund to make food banks history
Double paternity leave from two to four weeks and increase paternity pay by
more than 100 a week
Ensure at least 20,000 new homes a year are built by 2020
Introduce a Scottish Jobs Guarantee, paid for by a Bankers' bonus tax
Abolish the Bedroom Tax
Consult widely on the creation of an affordable, flexible and accessible childcare
system for working families in Scotland
Ensure migrants will not be able to claim benefits until they have lived here for
at least two years
Make it illegal for employers to undercut wages by exploiting workers
Repeal the Offensive Behaviour at Football Act
Restore local accountability to Scotlands policing
Protect our natural environment with a triple lock on fracking.
63
John, business owner
Kirsty, Student
e will reform
government
to give more power
to people
n the past year, Scotland has witnessed the highest ever levels of political
participation in the United Kingdom. We cannot lose that energy and
enthusiasm, and we need to make politics work for people in Scotland and
across the UK.
People in Scotland want change, and we will deliver the change that we
promise, and much more. People who live in this country cannot fail to be
aware that too much power is concentrated in both market and state. Those
who make decisions on behalf of others, whether they are in Edinburgh,
London, Brussels, in business, the media, or working in the public sector, are
too often unaccountable. Our over-centralised state means that our nations,
cities, counties and towns have been unable to respond to local conditions
and change things for themselves. In Scotland, too much power has been
concentrated in the Scottish Parliament, with not enough power for local
communities, rural communities and our islands.
Labour believes meaningful change is only possible when people are given the
power to change things for themselves. The lesson of Scotlands experience
is that bringing power into the hands of the people affected by decisions is
essential to restore the relationship between politics and people.
Our governing mission is to break out of the traditional top-down approach
and devolve power and decision making across all government departments
to people and local places. In Scotland, we need to devolve powers from the
Scottish Parliament to local authorities, to give local people a greater say in the
decisions that affect their lives.
A Labour government will devolve power to the Scottish Parliament, and to
local government in Scotland to unleash the potential of our cities, towns,
villages and our rural and island communities. This is part of how we will drive
economic growth and prosperity. We will reform institutions and devolve power
to deal with the causes of our economic problems, and we will encourage local
authorities to innovate to better serve their communities.
68
reforming the government to give more power to the people
The whole of Britain needs to work better. For too long, constitutional change
has been piece-meal and led by a few people at the top, and not citizens
across the United Kingdom. That is why we will establish a UK Constitutional
Convention, made up of people from across the United Kingdom, to establish
how our country should be governed.
Below we outline our plans to begin creating a more inclusive style of
government and politics that shares power and responsibility with people and
local places.
Reforming the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is a union of pooling and sharing resources and risks.
We believe that Scotland benefits from being part of the United Kingdom
economically, financially, socially and culturally.
The referendum confirmed Scotlands place in the United Kingdom, but the call
for change resulting from the referendum was overwhelming.
Labour will devolve more powers to the Scottish Parliament. We also need to
change the way that the whole of the United Kingdom works.
We will do something that should have been done long ago and replace the
House of Lords with an elected Senate of the Nations and Regions.
This reformed second chamber of the UK Parliament will help bind together the
United Kingdom and improve democratic legitimacy. It will also give Scotland
another strong voice at the heart of our democracy.
69
Delivering more powers

for the Scottish Parliament
People across Scotland voted overwhelmingly for change and Labour will keep
its promise to deliver the Vow and implement the Smith Agreement in full.
And we will go further, giving additional powers to Scotland.
We will devolve more powers over tax, welfare and job creation to Scotland,
making the Scottish Parliament one of the most powerful devolved Parliaments
in the world.
We will do this by delivering a Home Rule Bill to Parliament in the first 100 days
of the next Government.
The new powers will mean that rates of income tax will be set in Scotland.
Billions of pounds of social security spending will be devolved and the Scottish
Parliament will have the final say on the level of all benefits in Scotland.
The Scottish Parliament will have the power to top up UK benefits and to
introduce new benefits funded from Scotland. Benefits that support disabled
people, such as the Personal Independence Payment, will be devolved in full.
The Work Programme will be devolved to give local authorities the ability to get
people back to work. We will also devolve borrowing power, including power
that will allow the Scottish Parliament to boost capital projects.
We will devolve powers to Holyrood and then beyond that to councils and to
communities. Putting power in the hands of people in local communities is
fundamental to our approach.
The new devolution settlement will recognise the strength and security offered
by being part of the United Kingdom. We will maintain the Barnett formula,
the block grant and Scotland will continue to benefit from pooling and sharing
across the United Kingdom.
70
A better politics
A new generation of young people were inspired by their participation in
the independence referendum. Allowing 16 and 17 year olds to vote in the
referendum was the right decision. Scotland has led the way and we will give 16
and 17 year olds in Scotland and across the UK the right to vote in all elections.
We will take steps to ensure that the move to individual electoral registration
does not leave hundreds of thousands in Scotland unregistered. Well look at
using existing data held by public authorities to automatically register people.
We will improve our democracy by repealing the Lobbying Act, and creating a
statutory register of lobbyists for the UK Parliament. In Scotland, we will support
proposals for a statutory register of interests, which Labour campaigned for.
We will ban MPs from holding paid directorships and consultancies and want
to see the same in the Scottish Parliament. And we will reform the Commons
to better hold the Government to account and strengthen the publics voice
on legislation.
A New Deal for Scotlands

Towns, Cities, Villages and Islands
Labour supported devolution in 1997 because we believe that power is best
shared across the country.
But today, too much power has been concentrated in the Scottish Government,
with many communities including our rural and island communities - too
distant from the decisions that shape their destinies.
Scottish devolution has been a success, but the same principle now has to be
extended across all parts of Scotland to give people in local communities more
power over the decisions that affect their lives.
71
In our cities, there is a real desire for more power to be handed to local people
and, more often than not, local leaders are better placed to make decisions
about their local economies than national governments.
Over the coming years, city regions will become greater drivers of economic
growth. The City Deal for Glasgow will make a real difference and will give
people in Glasgow and the Clyde Valley power over the local economy, and
more chance to bring jobs and opportunities to the area.
We will support the City Deal for Glasgow and will push forward with City Deals
for Aberdeen and Inverness, and support a City Deal for Edinburgh, opening
up opportunities for billions of pounds to be targeted at increasing economic
opportunities across Scotland.
Our islands and rural communities must also be able to take advantage of
devolution. Labour will use the powers of the Smith Commission to devolve
more power to our island communities, including over the Crown Estate.
We will complete negotiations on devolution of the Crown Estate, as agreed
by the Smith Commission and we will ensure that opportunities will flow to
Scotlands rural communities and islands.
Labour will also give our island communities a place at the heart of the UK
Government. We will maintain the Islands Desk in the Scotland Office and
convene a Summit between the UK Government and Scotlands island councils
twice a year.
72
Rights and Equality

The Labour Party has always led on challenging prejudice and discrimination
and we will continue to do so. Peoples differences are not excuses to treat
them badly or unjustly.
The next Labour Government will go further in reducing discrimination
against women, requiring large companies to publish their gender pay gap
and strengthening the law against maternity discrimination. Where there is
evidence more progress is needed, we will enforce the relevant provisions
within the Equality Act.
We want the UK and Scottish Parliaments to look more like our country. We are
proud of our record in strengthening the representation of women and other
under-represented groups in politics and public life. We remain committed to
achieving a better balance in our Parliaments, including through the use of
all-women shortlists in Labour Party parliamentary selection contests. We will
also continue to work towards our goal of a 50:50 Scottish Parliament.
We will establish a comprehensive race equality strategy to break down the
barriers still faced by black and minority ethnic communities. Our aim is to make
sure our national institutions, including our Parliament, the police, judiciary,
civil service and the boardrooms of our companies, are more representative of
the diversity of our country.
We will also build on our history of championing LGBT rights, tackling
homophobia with tougher laws at home and greater engagement abroad.
Britain has a long tradition of liberty and the rule of law, and Labour has a
proud record of extending these to our most vulnerable citizens, by promoting
equality and opportunity for all.
73
Thanks to the Human Rights Act, some of our most vulnerable citizens, including
disabled people and victims of crime, have been given a powerful means of
redress. The Conservatives want to leave the European Convention of Human
Rights and abolish the Human Rights Act. A Labour government will stand up
for citizens individual rights, protecting the Human Rights Act and reforming,
rather than walking away from the European Court of Human Rights. And
we will make sure that access to legal representation, a cornerstone of our
democracy, is not determined by personal wealth, but remains available to
those that need it.
Our Freedom of Information laws have shone a light into the darker corners
of government and are a crucial check on the power of the Executive. We will
extend their scope so that public services run by large private companies are
included. We will make the same changes in Scotland.
The media
The free flow of information and of different points of view, is crucial for
open debate and countering concentrations of unaccountable power. That is
why the concentration of media power in too few hands is damaging to our
democracy. No one media owner should be able to exert undue influence on
public opinion and policy makers. No media company should have so much
power that those who run it believe themselves above the rule of law.
Yet the current system for protecting against these threats is inadequate.
Labour will take steps to protect the principle of media plurality so that no
media outlet can get too big, including updating our rules for the 21st Century
media environment.
74
We remain strongly committed to the implementation of the recommendations

of the Leveson Inquiry and expect the industry to establish a mechanism for
independent self-regulation, which delivers proper redress for individuals, as
set out in the Royal Charter, and agreed by all parties in Parliament. We made
a promise to victims of the phone hacking scandal. We stand by that promise
and it will be kept.
Our system of public service broadcasting is one of Britains great strengths.
The BBC makes a vital contribution to the richness of Britains cultural life, and
we will ensure that it continues to do so while delivering value for money. We
will also commit to keeping Channel 4 in public ownership so it continues to
produce vital public content.
Labour will:
Set up a people-led Constitutional Convention to determine the future of
the UKs governance.
Replace the House of Lords with a Senate of the Nations and Regions.
Give new powers for communities to shape their high streets, including
over payday lenders and fixed odds betting terminals.
Meet our promises to devolve further powers to Scotland.
Give 16 and 17 year olds the vote.
Create a statutory register of lobbyists.
Ban MPs and MSPs from holding paid directorships and consultancies.
Require large companies to publish their gender pay gap.
Implement the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry.
Support our system of public service broadcasting.
75
76
t h e l a b o u r p a r t y m a n i f e s t o 2015
Mr. and Mrs. Sweeney
77
Matteo, student
e will stand up
for Britain's
interests in Europe
and the world
e live in turbulent times. The rise of ISIL, an aggressive Russia

threatening its neighbours in eastern Europe, and continuing
economic uncertainty in the Eurozone are each a challenge to our national

security. Labour is an internationalist party and believes Britain must
engage with the global challenges we face, but not try and solve them
on our own. We believe the Conservatives are damaging the interests of
our country by turning their backs on Europe and isolating us abroad. We
will strengthen our national security, stand up for human rights, and work
with other countries to tackle terrorism, climate change, and work and to
eliminate extreme poverty globally.
Britain has unique influence in the world. We are the only country that
is a member of the UN Security Council, NATO, the G7, the G20, the
Commonwealth and the EU.
With Labour, Britains response to threats to our security will be based on
enduring principles. We will protect our national interests and strengthen
our long-standing international alliances, in particular our membership
of NATO and the European Union.
We will advance our international
engagement, rather than retreating into isolation. We will maintain the best
Armed Forces in the world, capable of responding to changing threats in an
unpredictable security landscape. And we will support human rights, always
putting individual freedom and democracy at the heart of our foreign policy.
One of our first acts in government will be to conduct a wide-ranging review
of Britains place in the world and how we can best uphold our values and the
national interest.
80
standing up for britain ' s interests in europe and the world
Global challenges
We will take a multilateral approach to global challenges. We will continue to
uphold our key alliances. These include the United States, our allies in Africa
and Latin America, and our partners from across the Commonwealth. They
also include the European Union. The crisis in Ukraine in the past year has
demonstrated the importance of NATO and the EU standing up to external
threats in Europes eastern, as well as its southern, neighbourhood. Labour
will continue to advocate an EU which looks outward to promote stability,
peace and prosperity on its borders.
Most immediately we will work with our allies to counter and confront
terrorism. ISILs barbarism and inherently expansionist ideology, alongside
terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda and Al-Shabaab, represent a particular
threat to global security. Following a request from the Iraqi Prime Minister, it
was right that the UK joined other nations in air strikes against ISIL targets in
Iraq. But military action alone will not defeat ISIL. A long-term multinational
political strategy, with regional actors playing a central role, is essential for
tackling the rise of extremism across the region.
A Labour Government will always do what is necessary to defend our
country. Beyond self-defence, Labour has been clear about the need to learn
the lessons of previous interventions, especially the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
We will continue the approach we have taken in this Parliament. A Labour
Government would not propose the use of military force without judging
whether reasonable diplomatic efforts have been exhausted, the action is
proportionate and in partnership with allies, whether there is a clear legal
basis, and if there is a clear plan, not just for winning the war but also for
building a lasting peace.
81
Peace and security in the Middle East are one of Labours most important
foreign policy objectives. We remain committed to a comprehensive
two-state solution - a secure Israel alongside a viable and independent
state of Palestine. There can be no military solution to this conflict and all
sides must avoid taking action that would make peace harder to achieve.
Labour will continue to press for an immediate return to meaningful
negotiations towards a diplomatic resolution.
Labour will also continue to honour the UKs commitment to support
Afghanistan as it seeks to secure an inclusive and durable political settlement.
In December 2014, the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan ended. We can
never repay the debt owed to the brave servicemen and women who have
sacrificed and risked their lives in Afghanistan to protect our national security.
As power and wealth continues to shift from West to East, our relationship
with Asia will be fundamental to our long-term prosperity. Labour will set
up an Asia Step-Change Taskforce to ensure a more strategic and effective
dialogue with regional partners, including China, both in the commercial
realm and in other areas, from cultural exchange to human rights.
This commitment to universal human rights will be at the heart of our foreign
policy across the world. We will continue to promote womens rights. We will
join with those campaigning to attain gender equality, the eradication of poverty
and inclusive economic growth. We will appoint a Global Envoy for Religious
Freedom, and establish a multi-faith advisory council on religious freedom within
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. And we will appoint an International
LGBT Rights Envoy to promote respect for the human rights of LGBT people, and
work towards the decriminalisation of homosexuality worldwide.
82
Europe
Labour believes that our membership of the European Union is central to
our prosperity and security. It is why we will work to change the EU so that it
operates in the best interests of our country. And it is why we will re-engage
with our European allies to protect our national interest after five years of
Britain being sidelined in Europe and isolated abroad.
The economic case for membership of the EU is overwhelming. Over 3 million
jobs in the UK are linked to trade with the European Union and almost half
of our trade and foreign investment comes from the EU. Competing in the
single market with the best companies in the world drives competitiveness
and innovation for firms in all parts of our economy. And it helps boost the
living standards of people across Britain, encouraging the inflow of capital
and investment.
Our reforms will help deliver a Europe focused on jobs and growth, not
simply more austerity and rising unemployment. Labour will focus on the
completion of the single market and tougher budget discipline, including on
those items where spending at the EU level can save money at the national
level. That means driving reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and a
Commission-led zero-based review of spending on EU agencies to reduce
waste and inefficiency. We will not join the Euro, and we will ensure EU rules
protect the interests of non-Euro members.
A Labour government helped to introduce sensible measures at an EU level
to protect the rights of Scottish workers, and we remain committed to fighting
to protect these measures.
83
People coming to Scotland from the EU to look for work are expected to
contribute to our economy, and to our society. So we will secure reforms
to immigration and social security rules, as well as pushing for stronger
transitional controls, enabling member states to control the flows of workers
for longer when new countries join.
We will also continue to open up EU decision-making and implement
institutional reforms to help build levels of trust among European citizens.
We will work to strengthen national parliaments influence over European
legislation by arguing for a red-card mechanism for member states, providing
greater parliamentary scrutiny.
Labours priority in government will be tackling the cost of living crisis,
not getting Britain out of Europe. However, Labour will legislate for a lock
that guarantees that there can be no transfer of powers from Britain to
the European Union without the consent of the British public through an
in/out referendum.
Defence and our Armed Forces

The primary duty of any government is the defence of the nation and its interests.
That is why Labour is committed to ensuring the UK has responsive, high-tech
Armed Forces, with the capability to respond to emerging, interconnected
threats in an unpredictable security landscape. We will conduct a Strategic
Defence and Security Review in the first year of government, with an inclusive
national debate on the security and defence challenges facing the country. It will
be fiscally responsible and strategically driven, focusing on the obstacles that
impede our Armed Forces from effective response to threats.
84
At the heart of our defence policy are the service men and women,
both regulars and reservists, many of them Scots, who risk their lives
for their country. Labour will strengthen the covenant between our
nation and our Armed Forces, veterans and their families. We will
create a Veterans Register to make certain our veterans receive proper
support on leaving service.
We will continue to roll out Labours Veterans Interview Programme,
in which companies voluntarily guarantee an interview for job-seeking
ex-forces personnel. We will introduce legislation to make discrimination
against members of our Armed Forces illegal.
The UK defence and security industry is a key contributor to our
economy, with a turnover of 22 billion a year. We will work to secure
defence jobs across the UK, protect the supply chain and work with
industry to grow Britains defence exports. In partnership with industry
we will put accountability, value for money, interoperability and
sustainability at the centre of defence procurement.
Britain needs to be prepared to counter the threat of cyber-attacks.
We have already called on the Government to require every company
working with the Ministry of Defence, regardless of its size or the scale
of its work, to sign up to a cyber-security charter. This would reduce
the risk of hackers using small suppliers to break into the systems of
major defence companies or the Department itself. We will consult on
creating a statutory requirement for all private companies to report
serious cyber-attacks threatening our national infrastructure.
85
Labour remains committed to a minimum, credible, independent nuclear

capability, delivered through a Continuous At-Sea Deterrent. We will actively
work to increase momentum on global multilateral disarmament efforts
and negotiations, and look at further reductions in global stockpiles and the
numbers of weapons.
Climate change
The next Labour Government will put climate change at the heart of our
foreign policy. As the terrible impact of the floods in England showed last year,
climate change is now an issue of national, as well as global security. From
record droughts in California to devastating typhoons in the Philippines, the
world is already seeing the effects we once thought only future generations
would experience.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made clear that if
the world is going to hold warming below two degrees (the internationallyagreed goal), global emissions need to peak in around 2020, and then
decline rapidly to reach net zero emissions by the second half of this
century. The weaker the action now, the more rapid - and costly - the
reductions will need to be later.
The effects of climate change hit the poor the hardest. If we do not tackle climate
change, millions of people will fall into poverty. We will expand the role of the
Department of International Development to mitigate the risks of a changing
climate, and support sustainable livelihoods for the world's poorest people.
86
We want an ambitious agreement on climate change at the UNFCCC

conference in Paris in December. We will make the case for ambitious
emissions targets for all countries, strengthened every five years on the basis
of a scientific assessment of the progress towards the two degrees goal.
And we will push for a goal of net zero global emissions in the second half
of this century, for transparent and universal rules for measuring, verifying
and reporting emissions, and for an equitable deal in which richer countries
provide support to poorer nations in combatting climate change.
International development
We are proud that Labour MPs passed the historic law that commits
Britain to spend 0.7 per cent of our gross national income on international
development. Labour will use that commitment from the British public to
transform the lives of the worlds poorest people, whilst ensuring value
for taxpayers money. We will work in fragile and conflict-affected states to
improve the lives of those affected by violence, prioritising the protection
and education of women and children. We will rebalance the budget to focus
funding on the worlds poorest countries. Scotland plays a significant role in
international development from the dedicated DFID staff in East Kilbride to
our work in Malawi.
87
While progress has been made towards the Millennium Development Goals,
it is unacceptable that over a billion people still live on less than $1.25 a
day. We will work with other countries at this years Sustainable Development
Goals Summit to unite the world to eradicate extreme poverty, tackle growing
economic inequality and place human rights at the heart of development. We
will establish a Centre for Universal Health Coverage to provide the support,
encouragement, and global partnerships needed to help countries provide
free healthcare. We will lead work to reshape the UN humanitarian system to
better equip it to save lives.
The private sector is essential to long-term development and can be a
positive force for change. We will extend the sharing of tax information to
developing countries, increase DFIDs help to governments to collect more
of their own taxes, tackle corruption and ensure good governance. We will
work with companies to ensure they have sustainable supply chains that are
free from slavery, treat their workers fairly and pay taxes where they are due.
The next Labour Scottish Government will create a scholarship in honour of
Nelson Mandela for students from every sub-Saharan African country.
88
Labour will:
Conduct
Strategic
Defence
and
Security
Review
in
the
first
year of government.
Return Britain to a leadership role in Europe, but reform the EU
so that it works for Britain.
Guarantee no powers will be transferred to Brussels without an
in/out referendum.
Appoint an International LGBT Rights Envoy, and appoint a Global Envoy for
Religious Freedom.
Outlaw discrimination and abuse of members of the Armed Forces.
Push for global targets to tackle inequality and promote human rights.
Establish a Centre for Universal Health Coverage.
Push for an ambitious target in Paris to get to goal of net zero global emissions
in the second half of this century.
89
Kashif,
small business owner
ime for change
In Scotland we are desperate for change.

Across Scotland and across Britain, while living standards fall, social mobility
stalls and austerity hurts the poorest, not everyone has had a bad time. While
pursuing an economic plan which is first, last and always only about cuts, the
Tories have somehow managed to find 3bn to spend on tax cuts for the
highest earners. The empty shops in our high streets, that once held cherished
local businesses have been filled by payday lenders, who seem to be the only
growth industry in Tory Britain.
Inequality has grown with the top ten percent earning ten times more than the
bottom ten percent. That holds us all back. Inequality is estimated to have cost
us about ten percent off our economic growth.
We're restless for change because Labour is now, as we have always been, the
party of social justice. So, we will end educational and health inequalities in
Scotland in a generation.
We look at Scotland and see our amazing talent and potential, but we see the
things that stop people from fulfilling their dreams and ambitions.
We know what the Scottish people know. We know we can do better than this.
We know how quickly things can change.
Lets vote with hope, for real change.
91
Jasmine, student
Labours plan for Scotland

1
1,000 MORE NURSES FOR OUR NHS, FUNDED BY

A MANSION TAX
MORE POWERS FOR THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

INCLUDING THE FINAL SAY ON BENEFITS
GUARANTEE A JOB AND TRAINING FOR ALL YOUNG

PEOPLE
1,600 FOR 18 AND 19-YEAR-OLDS WHO DONT HAVE

AN APPRENTICESHIP AND DONT GO TO COLLEGE OR
UNIVERSITY, TO INVEST IN THEMSELVES OR START
A BUSINESS
RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE TO AT LEAST 8 AN HOUR
GUARANTEE THE BARNETT FORMULA TO DELIVER

BILLIONS OF POUNDS MORE FOR OUR SCHOOLS,
HOSPITALS AND PENSIONS
INCREASE THE BURSARIES FOR THE POOREST STUDENTS

BY 1,000
NO TUITION FEES FOR SCOTTISH STUDENTS
BAN EXPLOITATIVE ZERO-HOURS CONTRACTS
10
END THE NEED FOR FOOD-BANKS WITH 175M TO

TACKLE THE CAUSES OF POVERTY
6747_15 Promoted by Brian Roy, Scottish General

Secretary, on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party
both at 290 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4RE. Printed by
21 Colour LTD, 21 Summerlee St Glasgow G33 4DB

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Scotland only succeeds

when working people

The Scottish Labour Manifesto 2015

Ours is a Scotland of remarkable

Labours Manifesto Budget

his manifesto sets out Labours plan for changing Scotland.

building a better future for scotland and the uk

building a better future for scotland and the uk

building a better future for scotland and the uk

e know a simple truth. Scotland only succeeds when working

building an economy that works for working people

A Strong Economic Foundation

building an economy that works for working people

Building world-class infrastructure will be crucial to fostering economic

building an economy that works for working people

Britains economy is being held back by the culture of short-termism which is a

building an economy that works for working people

Backing small business

Better work and better pay

Supporting the next generation

building an economy that works for working people

Mending the markets that people rely on

building an economy that works for working people

Professor Hugh Pennington

Sal, shop manager

providing world class health and education services

We need to do more to focus on the challenge of mental health. One in four

providing world class health and education services

Care in Older Age

providing world class health and education services

providing world class health and education services

Carson, Dad and Sadie

e will help our

s a country we value compassion, tolerance and a sense of decency.

Supporting families and relationships

helping our families and communities to thrive

Building new homes

Restoring social security

helping our families and communities to thrive

Supporting disabled people to live independently

Controlling immigration with fair rules

helping our families and communities to thrive

helping our families and communities to thrive

Ending violence against girls and women

helping our families and communities to thrive

Tackling the threat from extremism

Culture and the arts

helping our families and communities to thrive

Protecting our environment

helping our families and communities to thrive

John, business owner

reforming the government to give more power to the people

Reforming the United Kingdom

Delivering more powers

reforming the government to give more power to the people

A New Deal for Scotlands

reforming the government to give more power to the people

Rights and Equality

reforming the government to give more power to the people