---
election_year: 2017
party_id: scottish-labour
party_name: Scottish Labour Party
party_leader: Kezia Dugdale
political_spectrum: centre-left
victory: false
government_outcome: opposition
sections:
  - economy
  - taxation
  - health
  - education
  - housing
  - immigration
  - defence
  - foreign-policy
  - environment
  - transport
  - law-and-order
  - welfare
  - democracy-and-constitution
  - agriculture
  - energy
  - devolution
  - science-and-technology
  - local-government
---

# Scottish Labour Party Manifesto 2017

## Contents
* Foreword: Kezia Dugdale
* Foreword: Jeremy Corbyn
* An economy that works for all
* Negotiating Brexit
* Investing in Scotland's future
* A fair deal at work
* Transforming social security
* Secure homes for all
* A healthier Scotland
* Safer communities
* Leading richer lives
* Extending democracy
* A more equal society
* A global Britain

## Foreword

This General Election is a defining moment in our country’s history.

We are being pulled in opposing directions by two nationalist forces – the hard right Brexiteers who want to drag the British economy off a cliff edge, and the Scottish Nationalists who want to rip the UK apart in a reckless gamble which would see Scotland face a £15 billion deficit and the poorest people in our country paying the price. Labour is the only party offering the positive change Scotland needs. Change which puts people and jobs first, which will create a richer UK so we can all lead richer lives; a country where a first class education is available to all our children and highly skilled, highly paid jobs are open to everyone. Labour is the only party which knows it is the power of the whole UK working in partnership which benefits the many, not the few – that is at the root of our belief that together we're stronger. That is why Labour opposes independence and a second divisive independence referendum. Independence is not the answer to dealing with Scotland’s flagging economy or our pressured public services.

The SNP has one focus – independence. Labour will campaign tirelessly to ensure that the desire of the majority of Scots to remain part of the UK is respected. It’s only a Labour government that can secure Scotland’s future in the UK – the Tories have shown how recklessly they gamble with our Union in a desire to appease the hard right of their party. And it’s only a Labour government that will end damaging Tory austerity and negotiate a Brexit which is in the best interests of all British people. Through our fairer tax plans it is Labour that will ensure there are millions more to spend on Scottish public services, creating jobs, boosting the economy and lifting thousands of Scots out of poverty. A Labour government will pool and share the wealth of the UK, further enabling the Scottish Parliament to tackle the growing problems in our schools, our colleges, our hospitals, on our railways and roads, and to support our industries, old and new. And a Labour government will introduce a real Living Wage of £10

an hour, benefitting nearly half a million Scots suffering from in-work poverty. It’s only a Labour government that will establish a Scottish Investment Bank under Scottish control with £20 billion of lending power to deliver funds to local projects and Scotland’s small businesses, creating work and stimulating our economy.

It’s only Labour that will make sure women hit by Tory pension changes get the financial help they need, scrap the abhorrent Tory “rape clause”, address insecure employment and the challenges of the future that face

our workforce. Only a Labour government will work for the many, not the few, to build a more prosperous, fairer Britain – and secure Scotland’s place within the UK, because we know that together we're stronger.

Kezia Dugdale Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

### A message from Jeremy

A big part of being the leader of a political party is that you meet people across the country and hear a wide range of views and ideas about the future. For me, it’s been a reminder that our country is a place of dynamic, generous and creative people with massive potential.

But I’ve also heard something far less positive, something which motivates us in the Labour Party to work for the kind of real change set out in this manifesto. It is a growing sense of anxiety and frustration. Faced with falling living standards, growing job insecurity and shrinking public services, people are under increasing strain. Labour is the party that wants to change that. Every election is a choice. What makes this election different is that the choice is starker than ever before. You can choose more of the same: the rich getting richer; more children in poverty; our NHS failing; and our schools and social care in crisis. Or you can vote for the party that has a plan to change all of this – the Labour Party. Britain needs to negotiate a Brexit deal that puts our economy and living standards first. We need a jobs-first Brexit that allows us to upgrade our economy for the 21st century.

We need policies that tackle the poverty and inequality that scars our country. In Scotland, child poverty is increasing, the number of those working but still classified as poor is at its highest level since devolution, and health inequalities stubbornly persist. Rather than tackle poverty, the SNP obsesses over another reckless referendum that threatens people’s futures. Labour is opposed to independence because it would inflict turbo-charged austerity on the Scottish people. We will stand firm in our opposition to a second referendum because we know that together we're stronger and unity is still our strength. Historically, it has been the solidarity and common endeavour of our Labour and trade union movement that has transformed the lives of the many, not the few, in our great country. Just as it has always been the case, only our movement offers the hope and the contemporary solutions to society’s problems. Nationalism, in whatever form, does not.

Labour is determined to create a fairer Britain where no one is held back – and our decisions on investment and spending will have benefits for people across the UK and will give the Scottish government billions more for Scotland’s public services. So let’s build a country where we invest our wealth to give everyone the best chance. Don’t let the Conservatives hold Britain back. Don’t let the SNP hold Scotland back.

Let’s build a Britain that works for the many, not the few. Jeremy Corbyn Leader of the Labour Party

## An economy that works for all

Labour’s economic strategy is about delivering a fairer, more prosperous society for the many, not just the few. We will measure our economic success not by the number of billionaires, but by the ability of our people to lead richer lives.

Labour understands that wealth creation is a collective endeavour – between workers, entrepreneurs, investors, and government. Each contributes and each must share fairly in the rewards. This manifesto sets out Labour’s plan to upgrade our economy and rewrite the rules of a rigged system, so that our economy really works for the many, and not only the few. Britain is the only major developed economy where earnings have fallen even as growth has returned after the financial crisis. Most working people in Britain today are earning less, after inflation, than they did ten years ago. Too many of us are in low-paid and insecure work. In Scotland, 467,000 workers earn less than the living wage and 57,000 are on zero-hours contracts.

Too many of us fear our children will not enjoy the same opportunities that

we have.

After years of Tory failure to modernise the economy, and SNP failure to grow Scotland’s economy, resulting in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) falling below the UK average, Britain’s infrastructure is second rate and we are not doing enough to nurture business growth. Labour will turn this around because we offer the positive change Scotland needs.

We will upgrade our economy, breaking down the barriers that hold too many of us back, and tackle the gender pay gap. Our National Transformation Fund (NTF) will see the creation of a Scottish Investment Bank with £20 billion of investment to nurture business growth and stimulate the economy and create jobs. The NTF will deliver the investment that every part of Britain needs to meet its potential, overcoming years of neglect. Our industrial strategy will support businesses to create new, high-skilled, high-paid and secure work across the country, in the sectors of the future such as renewables. We will stop our financial system being rigged for the few, turning the power of finance to work for the public good. And we will put small

businesses at the centre of our economic strategy.

The growth created by our national investment plan, underpinned by the responsible economic management embodied in our Fiscal Credibility Rule, will create good jobs, drive up living standards and improve the public finances.

It is a plan that will deliver Labour’s vision of an economy that works for the many, not just the few – a Britain in which no one is held back.

### A fair taxation system

Taxation is what underpins our shared prosperity. All of us, including business, benefit from a healthy, educated and skilled population with access to basic services and secure housing. We believe in the social obligation to contribute to a fair taxation scheme for the common good – and we will take on the social scourge of tax avoidance through our Tax Transparency and Enforcement Programme, and close down tax loopholes. Thanks to Labour’s belief in devolution, income tax is now set by the Scottish Parliament and this year’s budget was the first time the SNP government could have used those powers progressively. It chose not to, and – with the help of the Scottish Greens – cut local government services by £170 million, bringing the total cuts since 2011 to £1.5 billion. The newly devolved powers over income tax allow us to make different choices while continuing to benefit from the pooling and sharing of resources which come from being part of the UK. Labour is the only party that will

end austerity north and south of the border. Labour is the only party that

offers the positive change Scotland needs.

Labour will ask the richest to pay their fair share. The Tories want tax cuts for the richest and the SNP won’t use the powers of the Scottish Parliament. We will rule out rises in personal National Insurance Contributions and on VAT. We renew our pledge not to extend VAT to food, children’s clothes, books and newspapers, and public transport fares. Too many cuts have fallen on those with the least. We have seen child poverty rise to over four million in the UK and 260,000 in Scotland. Homelessness is rising, and queues are growing at food banks. This cannot continue. Corporation tax in the UK is the lowest of any major developed economy. Our settlement with businesses will ask large corporations to pay a little more while still keeping UK corporation tax among the lowest of the major developed economies. In turn, we will meet the business need for a more skilled workforce with extra corporate tax revenues contributing to education and skills budgets. Scottish Labour would use Scotland’s

share of these additional resources to end the cuts to Scotland’s public services, and invest more money in our schools and our NHS.

We will protect small businesses by reintroducing the lower small profit rate of corporation tax. We will also exclude small businesses from costly plans to introduce quarterly reporting and take action on late payments.

Labour will give HM Revenue and Customs, which employs 8,000 people in Scotland, the resources and skills necessary to clamp down hard on those unscrupulous few individuals and companies who seek to avoid the responsibilities that the rest of us meet.

### Balancing the books

Our manifesto is fully costed, with all current spending paid for out of taxation or redirected revenue streams. Our public services must rest on the foundation of sound finances. Labour will therefore set the target of eliminating the UK government’s deficit on day-to-day spending within five years. But government must have a laser-like focus on how we earn, as well as how we spend. At the same time as eliminating the current deficit, Labour will invest in our future, to ensure faster growth and help us to earn our way as a country again.

To maintain good fiscal health, we will have a firm rule in place to guide all

our taxation and spending decisions. Our Fiscal Credibility Rule is based on the simple principle that government should not be borrowing for day-to-day spending, but that future growth depends on investment. It was designed in conjunction with world- leading economists. It also means we are committed to ensuring that the national debt is lower at the end of the next Parliament than it is today. Compliance with the rule will be overseen by a strengthened and truly independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) which we will make accountable to Parliament. We will also consult on implementing the recommendations of the Kerslake Review of the Treasury.

### Infrastructure investment

Our country and its people have been held back by a lack of investment in the backbone of a modern economy – the infrastructure of transport, communications and energy systems. And when investment has happened, it has been too concentrated in too few places. Labour will make different choices. We will take advantage of near-record low interest rates to create a National Transformation Fund that will invest £250 billion over ten years in upgrading the economy. In Scotland that would mean at least £20 billion more to invest in our economy. We will ensure that the huge potential of every part of our country is met. The next Labour government will rebuild communities ripped apart by globalisation and neglected for years by government. We will rebuild and transform our economy so that it works for the many, not the few. So we will put in place tight rules to ensure that investment is fairly shared around every region and nation of the UK. We will tear down the barriers that have held too many people back.

A Labour government will complete the HS2 high-speed rail line from

London through Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, and then on to Glasgow and Edinburgh, consulting with (and, where necessary, compensating) communities. We will aim to deliver rail electrification and expansion across the country. We will transform our energy systems, investing in new, state-of-the-art, low-carbon gas and renewable electricity production. In Scotland we would deliver universal superfast broadband by 2021, with a focus on rural broadband coverage. Labour will improve mobile internet coverage and expand provision of free public WiFi in city centres and on public transport. We will improve 4G coverage and invest to ensure all urban areas, as well as major roads and railways, have uninterrupted 5G coverage. On day one we will instruct the National Infrastructure Commission to report on how to roll out ‘ultrafast’ – 300Mbps – across the UK within the next decade. Scotland lags behind the rest of the UK with 4G coverage. Labour’s plans mean that those currently disadvantaged by the digital divide would see their service upgraded faster.

UPGRADING

OUR ECONOMY:

### Labour's industrial strategy

Our economy is suffering from years of neglect by governments which refuse to support our industries, businesses and workers.

Britain’s manufacturing base has declined and we have relied too heavily on the financial sector, centred on London and the South East of England. The failure to get all of Britain’s regional and local economies working can be seen in the deterioration of the country’s current account, weak productivity growth and underinvestment in infrastructure. After a decade of mismanagement by an SNP government more interested in dividing our country than boosting our prosperity, the Scottish economy is in a fragile state. It is underperforming relative to the UK with growth revised downward, employment levels declining and economic inactivity increasing.

The latest figures show that Scotland’s GDP has slumped below

the UK average. Scotland’s economy shrank in the final quarter of 2016

and barely grew over the year as a whole.

The collapse in oil prices, the possibility of a hard Brexit and a potential second independence referendum have created even more uncertainty for businesses and households across Scotland. Our economy must not be put at further risk with another destabilising independence referendum.

Scotland can only be stronger if it is given the resources and support to succeed. Only a Labour government with a credible industrial strategy can reach this untapped potential and deliver prosperity to every corner of our country, working with the devolved administrations. Our industrial strategy will be built on objective, measurable missions designed to address the great challenges of our times. In meeting these challenges, we will move beyond the narrow approaches of the past, and mobilise the talents and resources of our whole country to deliver an economy fit for the future. The first missions set by a Labour government will be to:
* Ensure that 60 per cent of the UK’s energy comes from zero-carbon or renewable sources by 2030
* Create an innovation nation with the highest proportion of high-skilled jobs in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by 2030. We will meet the OECD target of three per cent of GDP spent on research and development by 2030 In order to create fertile ground for businesses to achieve these missions, Labour will take action across the areas we know are necessary for business and industry to grow:
* Skills – Labour’s investment in education will see Scotland benefit by £2 billion
* Infrastructure – Labour’s investment in infrastructure will see Scotland benefit by £20 billion through the creation of a Scottish Investment Bank
* UK supply chains – Labour will target government support

where there are gaps
* Trade – Labour will negotiate a new deal with Europe that puts jobs and the economy first
* Procurement – Labour will put the £15 billion worth of UK government contracts in Scotland to good use by creating high quality jobs
* Research and development – Labour will commit extra research investment
* Energy costs and security – Labour will cap costs and invest in new publicly owned energy provision

While our industrial strategy is one for growth across all sectors, Labour recognises that certain sectors are of strategic significance to the UK economy. For each strategic industry, the next Labour government will establish a council (modelled on the

highly successful Automotive Council) to oversee its future security and growth.

In the UK, national and local government spends £200 billion a year in private-sector procurement. Labour will use this spending power to upgrade our economy, create good local jobs and reduce inequality.

We will require firms supplying national or local government to meet the high standards we should expect of all businesses: paying their taxes; recognising trade unions; respecting workers’ rights and equal opportunities; protecting the environment; providing training, and paying suppliers on time.

We will expect suppliers to reduce boardroom pay excesses by moving towards a 20:1 gap between the highest and lowest paid.

We will appoint a Digital Ambassador to liaise with technology companies to promote Britain as an attractive place for investment and provide support for start-ups to grow to become world-class digital businesses. Our Digital Ambassador will help to ensure businesses are ready to grow and prosper in the digital age.

Scotland’s hardest-to-reach rural areas are among the most digitally disadvantaged in the UK. Only 86 per cent of the Highlands and Islands

area will have access to superfast broadband coverage by the end of 2017.

In Scotland, Labour would deliver universal superfast broadband by 2021 to ensure no community is left behind regardless of remoteness or economic disadvantage.

### Transforming our financial system

A decade after the devastating international financial crisis, our financial system is still holding back too many of our small businesses and local economies. Labour will transform how our financial system operates. Following the successful example of Germany and the Nordic countries, we will establish a National Investment Bank that will bring in private capital finance to deliver £250 billion of lending power.

As part of that plan, Labour will establish a Scottish Investment Bank with £20 billion worth of lending power over the next decade. These new banks, unlike giant City of London firms, will be dedicated to supporting inclusive growth in their communities. The banks will deliver the finance that our small businesses, co-operatives and innovative projects need across the whole country.

Labour will overhaul the regulation of our financial system, putting in place a firm ring-fence between investment and retail banking that will protect consumers.

We will take a new approach to the publicly-owned Royal Bank of

Scotland, and launch a consultation on breaking up the bank to create

new local public banks that are better matched to their customers’ needs.

Over 1,000 high street banks have closed in the last 18 months, including more than 250 in Scotland, yet the big four banks made over £11 billion profit from high street banking. Branch closures threaten our high streets, depriving communities of an essential service and damaging the local economy. Labour will change the law so that banks can’t close a branch where there is a clear local need, putting their customers first.

Scotland has a successful finance industry, but we also need a strong, safe and socially useful banking system to meet the needs of our own regional economies and communities. We will commit to creating a more diverse banking system, backed up by legislation.

### A new deal for business

The majority of businesses play by the rules: they pay their workers reasonably and on time and they operate with respect for the environment and local communities. That is why it is vital that government ensures that businesses doing the right thing are rewarded rather than undercut or outbid by those unscrupulous few that cut corners, whether on taxes or workers’ conditions, environmental standards, or consumer safety and protection. But our business culture doesn’t always work like this. Scandals such as the failure of BHS show how the long-term growth of a company can be sacrificed for the sake of a quick buck. When shareholders are looking for quick short-term returns, they encourage companies to cut corners. That means they look to cut wages, instead of investing for the long term, or they spend longer inventing new tax avoidance schemes than they do inventing new products. By reforming the rules our companies operate under, we can make sure they stay focused on delivering shared wealth.

Labour will amend company law so that directors owe a duty

directly not only to shareholders, but to employees, customers, the environment and the wider public, and we will consult on bringing forward appropriate legislation within this Parliament. Labour will amend the takeover regime to ensure that businesses identified as being ‘systemically important’ have a clear plan in place to protect workers and pensioners when a company is taken over. Labour will also legislate to reduce pay inequality by introducing an Excessive Pay Levy on companies with staff on very high pay. Our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of our economy, providing 1.2 million jobs in Scotland. Technological changes, like the spread of digital manufacturing and rapid communication, mean smaller, faster businesses will be the future of our economy. Yet this Tory government has taken small businesses for granted. Labour is the party of small businesses. We understand the challenges they face. In order to provide the support many small businesses need, a Labour government will:
* Mandate the new Scottish Investment Bank, and other regional development banks, to identify where other lenders fail to meet the needs of SMEs, and prioritise lending to improve the funding gap
* Reinstate the lower small-business corporation tax rate
* Scrap quarterly reporting for businesses with a turnover of under £85,000
* Declare war on late payments by:
* Using government procurement to ensure that anyone bidding for a government contract pays its own suppliers within 30 days
* Developing a version of the Australian system of binding arbitration and fines for persistent late-payers for the private and public sectors

We will also bring forward legislation to create a proper legal definition for co-operative ownership. The Scottish Investment Bank and other regional development banks will be charged with helping support our co-operative sector.

Labour will aim to double the size of the co-operative sector in the UK, putting it on a par with those in leading economies like Germany or the US.

### Widening ownership of our economy

Britain is a long-established democracy. But the distribution of ownership of the country’s economy is too narrow. More democratic ownership structures would help our economy deliver for the many and lead to a fairer distribution of wealth.

In government, Labour will give more people a stake – and a say – in our economy by doubling the size of the co-operative sector and introducing a “right to own,” making employees the buyer of first refusal when the company they work for is up for sale. We will act to ‘insource’ our public and local council services as preferred providers. Many basic goods and services have been taken out of democratic control through privatisation. This has often led to higher prices and poorer quality, as prices are raised to pay out dividends. For example, our private energy providers overcharged customers by £2 billion in 2015 and, in private hands, Royal Mail has increased stamp and parcel charges, and

failed to meet its customer service obligations, while its owners trade

shares at significant profit. The Tory government’s privatisation of Royal

Mail was a historic mistake, selling off another national asset on the cheap.

Across the world, countries are taking public utilities back into public ownership. Labour will learn from these experiences and bring key utilities back into public ownership to deliver lower prices, more accountability and a more sustainable economy.

We will:
* Bring private rail companies back into public ownership as their franchises expire – a demand made by Scottish Labour when the ScotRail franchise ended. The SNP handed the 10-year £6 billion contract to the Dutch state-owned Abellio and passengers have faced a catalogue of problems, from late and delayed trains to stop-skipping and cancellations. Scottish Labour has called for a People’s ScotRail, for people, not for profit. We would take the Caledonian Sleeper franchise back into public ownership
* Regain control of energy supply networks through the alteration of operator license conditions, and transition to a publicly-owned, decentralised energy system
* Reverse the privatisation of Royal Mail at the earliest opportunity. Public ownership will benefit consumers, ensuring that their interests are put first and that there is democratic accountability for the service

Scottish Labour is committed to keeping Scottish Water in public ownership and we support municipal ownership of buses.

### Sustainable energy

Labour’s energy policy is built on three simple principles:
* To ensure security of energy supply and ‘keep the lights on’
* To ensure energy costs are affordable for consumers and businesses
* To ensure we meet our climate change targets and transition to a low carbon economy

The UK energy system is outdated, expensive and polluting. Privatisation has failed to provide an energy system that delivers for people, businesses or our environment. Three-in-ten households are in fuel poverty, 748,000 in Scotland in 2015, yet the Competition Markets Authority found customers are overcharged an enormous £2 billion every year. Scottish Labour has won victories in the Scottish Parliament to get fuel poverty targets reset and forced progress on the Warm Homes Act to be delivered in 2017. Labour understands that many people don’t have time to shop around, they just want reliable and affordable energy. So the next Labour Government will:
* Introduce an immediate emergency price cap to ensure that the average dual fuel household energy bill remains below £1,000 per year, while we transition to a fairer system for bill payers
* Take energy back into public ownership to deliver renewable energy, affordability for consumers, and democratic control

We will do this in the following stages:
* Regaining control of energy supply networks through the alteration of the National and Regional Network Operator license conditions
* Supporting the creation of publicly owned, locally accountable, energy companies and co-operatives to rival existing private energy suppliers, with at least one in every nation or region
* Legislating to permit publicly owned local companies to purchase the regional grid infrastructure, and to ensure that national and regional grid infrastructure is brought into public ownership over time

Labour would improve upon Landlord Energy Efficiency regulations and re- establish the Landlord Energy Saving Allowance to encourage the uptake of efficiency measures.

Scottish Labour has proposed a Member’s Bill to ban onshore fracking in Scotland – which the SNP has refused to do. Labour at Westminster will introduce such a ban. Fracking would lock us into an energy infrastructure based on fossil fuels, long after the point in 2030 when the Committee on Climate Change says gas use in the UK must sharply decline. Emerging technologies such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) will help to smooth the transition to cleaner fuels and to protect existing jobs as part of the future energy mix. Labour will safeguard the offshore oil and gas industry, with a strategy focused on protecting Scotland’s vital North Sea assets, and the jobs and skills that depend on

them. Decommissioning can be a thriving industry for the North East of Scotland but the government needs to act quickly to secure the investment and jobs the area needs. We are committed to renewable energy projects, including tidal lagoons, which can help create manufacturing and energy jobs as well as contributing to climate change commitments. The UK has the world’s oldest nuclear industry, and nuclear will continue to be part of our energy supply. We will support further nuclear projects and protect nuclear workers’ jobs and pensions. There are considerable opportunities for nuclear power and decommissioning both internationally and domestically.

Building a clean economy of the future is the most important thing we must do for our children, our grandchildren and future generations.

A Labour government will put the UK on track to meet the targets in the Paris Agreement.

The low-carbon economy is one of the UK’s fastest-growing sectors, creating jobs and providing investment across each nation and region. It employed an estimated 447,000 employees in the UK in 2015 and saw over £77 billion in turnover. In Scotland there are 58,000 jobs in the low carbon and renewables energy sector.

With backing from a Labour government, these sectors can secure crucial shares of global export markets.

Currently, the UK buys and sells tariff-free energy from Europe, an arrangement which saves families and businesses money, and helps balance the power grid. As part of the Brexit negotiations, Labour will prioritise maintaining access to the internal energy market.

## Negotiating Brexit

Labour accepts the EU referendum result and a Labour government will put the national interest first. We will prioritise jobs and living standards, build a close new relationship with the EU, protect workers’ rights and environmental standards, provide certainty to EU nationals and give a meaningful role to Parliament throughout negotiations. We will end Theresa May’s reckless approach to Brexit, and seek to unite the country around a Brexit deal that works for every community in the UK. We will scrap the Tories’ Brexit White Paper and replace it with fresh negotiating priorities that have a strong emphasis on retaining the benefits of the single market and the customs union – which are essential for maintaining industries, jobs and businesses in the UK. Labour will always put jobs and the economy first. A Labour government will immediately guarantee existing rights for all EU nationals living in Britain and secure reciprocal rights for UK citizens who have chosen to make their lives in EU countries. EU nationals do not just contribute to our society; they are part of our society. And they should not be used as bargaining chips.

There are over 180,000 EU nationals currently living and working in

Scotland and we will guarantee their rights.

It is shameful that the Prime Minister rejected repeated attempts by Labour to resolve this issue before Article 50 was triggered. As a result, 3 million EU nationals have suffered unnecessary uncertainty, as have the 1.2 million UK citizens living in the EU. A Tory Brexit will weaken workers’ rights, deregulate the economy, slash corporate taxes, sideline Parliament and democratic accountability, and cut Britain off from our closest allies and most important trading partners. Labour recognises that leaving the EU with ‘no deal’ is the worst possible deal for Britain and that it would do damage to our economy and trade. We will reject ‘no deal’ and negotiate transitional arrangements to avoid a cliff-edge for the UK economy. The issues that affect our continent now will continue to do so in the future – and Labour will continue to work constructively with the EU and other European nations on issues such as climate change, refugee crises and counter-terrorism. We will build a close cooperative future relationship with the EU, not as members, but as partners. A Labour government will ensure that the UK maintains our leading research role by seeking to stay part

of Horizon 2020 and its successor programmes, and by welcoming research staff to the UK. We will seek to maintain membership of (or equivalent relationships with) European organisations which offer benefits to the UK, such as the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) and the European Medicines Agency. We will seek to ensure that Britain remains part of the Erasmus scheme so that British students have the same educational opportunities after we leave the EU. The EU is the UK’s single largest trading partner in agricultural produce, with the vast majority of British exports being sold to European markets. A Labour government will end the uncertainty for our farmers, our fishing industry and food producers by securing continued EU market

access, allowing British farmers and food producers to continue to sell their products on the continent. Labour will also protect our farmers and rural economy by ensuring Britain continues to set the highest standards in food quality and welfare. We will not allow Brexit to be used as an excuse to undercut our farmers and flood Britain’s food chain with cheap and inferior produce. We will drop the Tories’ Great Repeal Bill, replacing it with an EU Rights and Protections Bill that will ensure there is no detrimental change to workers’ rights, equality law, consumer rights or environmental protections as a result of Brexit. Throughout the Brexit process, we will make sure that all EU-derived laws that are of benefit – including workplace laws, consumer rights and environmental protections – are fully protected without qualifications,

limitations or sunset clauses. We will work with trade unions, businesses and stakeholders to ensure there is a consensus on this vital issue. A Labour approach to Brexit will ensure there can be no rolling back of key rights and protections and that the UK does not lag behind Europe in workplace protections and environmental standards in future. The EU has had a huge impact in securing workplace protections and environmental safeguards. But we all know that for many Brexiteers in the Tory Party, this was why they wanted to leave – to tear up regulations and weaken hard-fought rights and protections. A Labour government will never consider these rights a burden

or accept the weakening of workers’ rights, consumer rights or environmental protections. We will introduce legislation to ensure there are no gaps in national security and criminal justice arrangements as a result of Brexit. Labour recognises the vital role that cross-border agencies, such as Eurojust and Europol, have played in making Britain safer and that European Arrest Warrants have been invaluable. A Labour government will seek to retain membership of these agencies and continue European Arrest Warrant arrangements. Labour will seek a Brexit deal that delivers for all regions and nations of the UK. We will introduce a ‘presumption of devolution’ where powers transferred from the EU will

go straight to the relevant region or nation. For many people, and for much of our country, power can feel just as remote and unaccountable in Westminster as it does in Brussels. So a Labour government will seek to put powers as close to communities as possible. In Scotland that will mean legislation around farming and agriculture, fisheries and rural development will come to Holyrood and further empower the Labour-founded Scottish Parliament. We will ensure there is no drop in EU structural funding that occurs as a result of Brexit until the end of the current EU funding round in 2019/20. As part of Labour’s plans to rebalance and rebuild the economy, we will ensure that no region or nation of the UK is affected by the withdrawal of EU funding for the whole of this Parliament. This will also apply to the funding of peace and reconciliation projects in Northern Ireland.

We will also improve engagement and dialogue with the devolved administrations and seek to ensure the final Brexit deal addresses specific concerns.

Scottish Labour, for instance, has raised issues around immigration in terms of how vital migrants are to the Scottish economy and Scottish Labour will continue to make

Scotland’s voice heard in the drawing up of any new immigration policies. Labour will ensure there is no return to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland and that there is no change in the status or sovereignty of Gibraltar. We will also protect Gibraltar’s economy and ensure that its government can continue to create jobs and prosperity in the years to come. Where Theresa May wants to shut down scrutiny and challenge, Labour will welcome it. We will work with Parliament, not against it. On an issue of this importance, the government can’t hide from the public or Parliament. A Labour approach to Brexit also means legislating to guarantee that Parliament has a truly meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal.

### Immigration

Labour offers fair rules and reasonable management of migration. In trade negotiations our priorities favour growth, jobs and prosperity. We make no apologies for putting these aims before bogus immigration targets. Freedom of movement will end when we leave the European Union. Britain’s immigration system will change, but Labour will not scapegoat migrants, nor blame them for economic failures. Labour will develop and implement fair immigration rules. We will not discriminate between people of different races or creeds. We will end indefinite detentions, distinguish between migrant labour and family attachment, and will continue to support the work of the Forced Marriage Unit. We will replace income thresholds with a prohibition on recourse to public funds. New rules will be equally informed by negotiations with the EU and other partners, including the Commonwealth. Whatever our trade arrangements, we will need new migration management systems, transparent and fair to everybody, working with businesses, trade unions, devolved governments and others to identify specific labour and skill shortages.

Working together we will institute a new system which is based on our economic needs, balancing controls and existing entitlements. This may include employer sponsorship, work permits, visa regulations or a tailored mix of all these which works for the many, not the few. Labour will protect those already working here, whatever their ethnicity. We will take decisive action to end the exploitation of migrant labour undercutting workers’ pay and conditions. Labour will crack down on unscrupulous employers. We will stop overseas-only recruitment practices, strengthen safety-at-work inspections and increase prosecutions of employers evading the minimum wage. Working with trade unions, we will end workplace exploitation. Labour values the economic and social contributions of immigrants. Both public and private sector employers depend on immigrants. We will not denigrate those workers. We value their contributions, including their tax contributions. For areas where immigration has placed a strain on public services we will reinstate the Migrant Impact Fund and boost it with a contributory element from the investments required for High Net Worth Individual Visas.

Labour will restore the rights of migrant domestic workers, and end this form of modern slavery. Labour will ease the underlying pressures in any areas struggling to cope with seven years of austerity with our programme of investments. We will not cut public services and pretend the cuts are a consequence of immigration.

Refugees are not migrants. They have been forced from their homes, by war, famine or other disasters. Unlike the Tories, we will uphold the proud British tradition of honouring the spirit of international law and our moral obligations by taking our fair share of refugees.

In Scotland, councils like Glasgow and North Lanarkshire have led the way in welcoming refugees and helping them to settle into their new lives.

The current arrangements for housing and dispersing refugees are not fit for purpose. They are not fair to refugees or to our communities. We will review these arrangements.

Labour welcomes international students who benefit and strengthen our education sector, generating more than £25 billion for the British economy. In Scotland, the 51,910 students who studied here in 2015/16 contributed £850 million a year in consumer spending and around £400 million in fees, significantly boosting jobs and local businesses. They are

not permanent residents and we will not include them in immigration numbers, but we will crack down on fake colleges.

### International trade

Labour is pro-trade and pro- investment. The UK’s future prosperity depends on minimising tariff and non-tariff barriers that prevent us from exporting and creating the jobs and economic growth we need. Labour will work with the Scottish government and other devolved administrations to bring forward an integrated trade and industrial strategy that boosts exports, investment and decent jobs in Britain. Labour will set out our priorities in an International Trade White Paper to lead a national debate on the future of Britain’s trade policy. We will ensure proper transparency and parliamentary scrutiny of all future trade and investment deals. The EU accounts for 44 per cent of our current exports and will continue to be a priority trading partner. As our trading relationship with the EU changes, it is vital that we retain unrestricted access for our goods and services. Through our Just Trading initiative launched in 2016, Labour will work with global trading partners to develop ‘best-in-class’ free trade and investment agreements that remove trade barriers and promote skilled

jobs and high standards. We will ensure all future trade

deals safeguard the right to regulate in the public interest and to protect public services. Labour is committed to the rules- based international trading system of the World Trade Organization (WTO). We will rejoin the Government Procurement Agreement, while safeguarding the capacity for public bodies to make procurement decisions in keeping with public policy objectives. Labour will build human rights and social justice into trade policy. We will ensure that trade agreements cannot undermine human rights and labour standards, and that UK Export Finance support is not available to companies engaged in bribery or corrupt practices. Scottish Labour opposes the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). We will work with other WTO members to end the dumping of state-subsidised goods on our markets. The Tories consistently blocked EU efforts to respond to dumping with the duties needed to defend our steel industry. Labour will develop the full range of trade remedies necessary to support key sectors affected by these unfair practices. Labour will champion the export

interests of SMEs, ensuring all new trade agreements include a commitment to support their market access needs. We will develop an export incentive scheme for SMEs based on international best practice. Labour will use the full range of export credit, finance, insurance and trade promotion tools to boost British exports and support priority industrial sectors. We will create a network of regional trade and investment champions to promote the export and investment interests of businesses across the UK, and we will include representation from nations and regions on overseas trade missions. Labour is committed to growing the digital economy and ensuring that trade agreements do not impede cross-border data flows, while maintaining strong data protection rules to protect personal privacy.

As part of our commitment to a low-carbon future, we will actively support international negotiations towards an Environmental Goods Agreement at the WTO. Labour will use trade negotiations to boost market access for British environmental goods and services, alongside support for investment into new green technologies and innovative low-carbon products. Labour will develop capital investment schemes and other incentives to encourage investment into the UK, especially into target areas identified by the industrial strategy. We will champion the UK as a safe investment environment. Labour will review our historic investment treaties with other countries, ensuring they are fit for purpose for the 21st century.

## Investing in Scotland's future

Scotland’s greatest resource is our young people, and education is what empowers us all to realise our full potential. When education fails, it isn’t just the individual that is held back, it is all of us. When we invest in our young people to develop their skills and capabilities, we are investing in Scotland’s future.

The single most important economic policy a government can pursue is investment in education. We will all benefit from a stronger economy, a richer culture, and a more equal society. Scottish education was once the best in the world. We produced the engineers, inventors, scientists

and writers who shaped, invented, illuminated and imagined the modern

world. This was all underpinned by a broad, ambitious and comprehensive

education system.

Today, despite the efforts of our hardworking education staff and the talents of our young people, we struggle to match those achievements, and have seen many other countries overtake us. The latest international surveys show Scotland falling behind in maths, science and English. The Scottish government’s own surveys also show a decline in literacy and numeracy.

The SNP government, just like the Tories in England, has failed to invest in education. Labour will create an education system fit for the 21st century across the UK. This will mean more money for education in Scotland, which we would use to transform Scotland’s

education system and ensure that all our young people can reach their full potential. Scottish Labour backs the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign, which aims to combat homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in our education system.

### Early years

We know that the early years are crucial to a child’s prospects in life, and Labour wants every child to be given an equal chance to succeed. There is extensive evidence that early years education has a major impact on child development. But we know that there is a 14-month gap separating children from the most deprived and least deprived areas before they even set foot in a classroom. The SNP has promised to expand childcare but it has failed to match these promises with adequate investment. Promises about hours of free childcare are meaningless unless parents and children can make use of them. Parents and nurseries both confirm that the current system is inflexible and fails to meet parents’ needs.

Labour’s fairer tax policies would enable more money to be spent directly on education from the early

years onwards. We would match a planned increase in pre-school entitlement, but would begin to move towards the flexible, all age, year-round, wrap-around affordable childcare Scottish families need. As part of this system Labour would fund a breakfast club in every primary school in Scotland. Breakfast clubs can help parents access meaningful childcare so they can fully participate in the world of work and they ensure more children start the day with a nutritious breakfast to get them ready for a day’s learning. We will bring forward a Member’s Bill to do this. We would ensure the early years workforce has access to speech and language therapy skills to support parents with the basics of early language, and identify and refer children who need extra help. We would also ensure health visitors and others have access to specific opportunities for professional development around young children’s language development. Training and qualifications in language and communication development should become a strong ‘promotion pathway’ for the early years workforce.

### Schools

The SNP is more interested in dividing our country than investing in our schools. Its cuts are starving schools of the funding they need to deliver the world class education to which Scotland’s children are entitled. Under-funding is driving up class sizes, driving down teacher numbers, and fuelling educational inequality. The botched implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and the new culture of assessment have increased disaffection in the workforce, creating a recruitment and retention crisis. Since 2011 spending on Scottish schools has fallen short by more than £1 billion. This failure is undermining the prospects of our young people, especially those from less prosperous backgrounds. The attainment gap between pupils from richer and poorer areas has increased, and 6,000 children leave school unable to read properly. Scottish Labour would cancel the SNP’s plans to centralise schools and instead invest properly in schools across the country, with a focus on tackling declining educational outcomes and ending educational inequality within a generation.

Scottish Labour would address the current recruitment crisis across the

country, which has led to schools appealing for volunteers to teach children. We would work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) and trade unions to introduce an improved version of the Chartered Teacher scheme to ensure teachers can progress their career while staying in the classroom.

### Improving literacy

Labour believes that teaching our children to read well is key to unlocking their potential. Not only does it improve their educational prospects, it enhances their imaginations and enriches their understanding of the world around them. But the latest figures show that literacy levels are falling across all stages in education. Labour would take action to ensure that, within ten years, every child leaves primary school able to read to a high standard.

### Narrowing the gap

Labour’s aspiration is to end educational inequality in a generation. Scottish Labour would create a new statutory obligation on government to report on the attainment gap between children from lower and higher income backgrounds, and make success in closing the gap a key performance benchmark of the school inspection system. Inequality in attainment must be removed. We would reverse the decision to charge schools for exam appeals, as this disadvantages pupils from poorer backgrounds.

### Widening the curriculum

The Curriculum for Excellence was a bold policy conceived by Scottish Labour, but it has been undermined by poor implementation by the SNP. Teachers have not received the support and resources they need to successfully introduce and deliver the new curriculum. Instead, like so many public sector workers in Scotland, they are being asked to do more for less. Scottish Labour wants to see reform of the senior phase of secondary schooling, with more choice for pupils, both academic and vocational, and a Scottish Graduation Certificate reflecting all achievement, in vocational and voluntary activity as well as traditional exams.

This would build on the success of the Youth Awards network, which includes achievements gained through activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.

Labour’s ban on zero hour contracts would prevent them from being classified as a positive destination for young people leaving school.

### Free school meals and healthy lifestyles

Labour will extend the current provision of free school meals to all primary school children in England, paid for by removing the VAT exemption for private schools. Scotland would benefit from the Barnett consequentials of this policy, which would allow it to be replicated here. Labour believes in promoting and facilitating healthy and active lifestyles among our young people, but recent cuts have continued to undermine sports provision in communities across Scotland. We would use the proceeds from the “sugar tax” to invest in after-school sport. This would not just be an investment in after-school provision; it would be an investment in the long- term health of our nation.

### Investing in the future

To prepare our young people for the new, fast-changing world of work, we would establish a nationwide initiative to introduce first-class education in IT and computer coding in all schools. Labour would fund primary school teachers to go on a basic coding course to allow schools to introduce this to pupils from Primary 1, as they currently do in England. We would establish a software development and coding apprenticeship path to help Scotland’s young people develop the skills they need. We would introduce an annual national schools coding competition to showcase Scottish talent and further develop the skills of the future. We want to inspire a new generation of world-leading scientists by removing barriers that prevent young people, especially girls, from entering science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

We would inspire our new generation of world-leading scientists and innovators to give our country the skills we need to succeed.

### Further education

Scotland’s colleges are facing a funding crisis. Since the SNP came to power, there are almost 150,000 fewer students in colleges across Scotland, and the number of part time students has declined by 48 per cent. This reduction is most acute among women and the over 25s.

Scotland’s colleges have also suffered from a misguided merger programme which has delivered no discernible educational benefit to learners. Labour believes that Further Education (FE) colleges have a vital role to play in lifelong learning, enabling everyone to upskill or retrain at any point in life. They should be properly resourced and there should be parity of esteem with institutions in the higher education sector.

Labour believes education should be a universal entitlement, open to all, no matter their age or background. We would:
* Review and reform the current Further Education bursary and Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) systems so that we provide

students with the financial support they need and deserve
* Make specific improvements to ensure that those on low incomes or in straitened circumstances can access further education
* Establish a transition fund to provide support and assistance to people moving from social security into further education, to ensure that nobody who wishes to attend college is left worse off as a result

Labour established the Scottish Union Learning Fund and is committed to working with the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) to maintain it. We would extend funding periods and ensure the stability of union learning initiatives and projects, and we will support training of union representatives in representation,

organising and bargaining skills.

### Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a powerful tool to grow our economy, promote equality and create a skilled workforce for a dynamic Scottish economy of the future. Labour believes in a dynamic economy supported by a strong and productive workforce. Despite powers over apprenticeships being devolved, there is still a productivity gap in Scotland. Labour believes we should have a strategic approach to apprenticeships, ensuring that the right incentives exist for businesses to invest in high quality apprenticeships, specifically in sectors the economy needs to grow. Opportunities from apprenticeships must be shared equally across the workforce. In too many sectors, opportunities are overwhelmingly filled by young men. The total number of apprenticeships per capita in Scotland is still too low, and lags behind the other nations of the UK. The government must do more, including providing value to those companies being hit by the new apprenticeship levy. Labour would invest in modern apprenticeships with thousands of new apprenticeships each year, and would match those apprenticeships

much more closely to the labour market and a proper manufacturing strategy.

### Higher education

Scottish Labour would maintain free tuition for Scottish students at university and ensure that recent graduates on lower incomes are not saddled with disproportionate payments due to their student loan liabilities. The SNP pledged to abolish student debt. Instead, it has soared by 42 per cent since it came to power in 2007. We would change the system so that graduates do not start to make repayments on their loans until they are earning £22,000 a year. In addition to this, we would extend the repayment period for student loans to 30 years. According to the Sutton Trust, people from the poorest backgrounds in Scotland are four times less likely to go to university than those from the wealthiest backgrounds. So widening participation in Scotland’s higher education sector would be a Labour priority. Today in Scotland it is the poorest students who rack up the highest debts. Labour would work to establish a better and fairer system for students across Scotland.

Scottish Labour would seek to reintroduce the Fresh Talent scheme through post-study work visas.

## A fair deal at work

Work should provide people with security and fulfilment. But for too many people work is insecure and does not make ends meet. The Tories boast about the recovery of employment, but our labour market is failing. Real terms pay is still lower than before the financial crash, and jobs are increasingly low skilled and insecure.

A Labour government will invest in enforcement of rights at work through a new Ministry of Labour, and empower workers and their trade unions.

We will review the rules on union recognition so that more workers have

the security of a trade union.

At the same time as strengthening workers’ rights, we will make work more fulfilling by using public investment to upgrade our economy and create high quality jobs. While the Tories and SNP stand back and allow insecure work to spread, Labour will act to guarantee good jobs and strong businesses.

### Rights at work

The next Labour government will bring in a 20-point plan for security and equality at work: 1. Give all workers equal rights from day one – whether part-time or full-time, temporary or permanent – so that working conditions are not driven down. 2. Ban zero hours contracts – so that every worker gets a guaranteed number of hours each week. 3. Legislate to ensure that any employer wishing to recruit labour from abroad does not undercut workers at home - because it causes divisions when one workforce is used against another. 4. Repeal the Trade Union Act and roll out sectoral collective bargaining – because the most effective way to maintain good rights at work is collectively through a union. 5. Guarantee trade unions a right to access workplaces – so that unions can speak to members and potential members. 6. Propose four new public holidays – bringing our country together to mark our four national patron saints’ days. These will be additional to statutory holiday entitlement, so that workers in Britain get the same proper breaks as in other countries.

7. Raise the minimum wage to the level of the Living Wage of £10 per hour by 2020 for all workers aged 18 or over – so that work pays. This will benefit nearly half a million Scots. 8. End the public sector pay cap – because public sector workers deserve a pay rise after years of falling wages. 9. Amend the takeover code to ensure every takeover proposal has a clear plan in place to protect workers and pensioners – because workers shouldn’t suffer when a company is sold. 10. Roll out maximum pay ratios of 20:1 in the public sector and companies bidding for public contracts - because it cannot be right that wages at the top keep rising while everyone else’s stagnates. 11. Ban unpaid internships – because it’s not fair for some to get a leg up when others cannot afford to. 12. Enforce all workers’ rights to trade union representation at work – so that all workers can be supported when negotiating with their employer. 13. Abolish employment tribunal fees – so that people have access to justice. 14. Double paid paternity leave to four

weeks and increase paternity pay – because fathers are parents too and deserve to spend more time with their new babies. 15. Strengthen protections for women against unfair redundancy – because no one should be penalised for having children. 16. Hold a public inquiry into blacklisting of workers – where people are unable to get work because of their trade union activities – to ensure that blacklisting truly becomes, and remains, a thing of the past. 17. Give equalities representatives statutory rights – so they have time to protect workers from discrimination. 18. Reinstate protection against third party harassment – because everyone deserves to be safe at work. 19. Use public spending power to drive up standards, including only awarding public contracts to companies which recognise trade unions. 20. Introduce a civil enforcement system to ensure compliance with gender pay auditing – so that all workers have fair access to employment and promotion opportunities and are treated fairly at work.

Labour would support the creation of a Scottish Hazards Centre, which will provide awareness, knowledge and understanding of occupational health and safety and environmental matters, to end the Scottish anomaly of higher incidences of work-related ill health, injuries and deaths. A Labour government will ensure Britain abides by the global labour standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions. All workers should be able to work in a safe environment and return to their families at the end of the day. Labour will enforce regulations that save lives. As well as legislating against zero hours contracts, there are many more workers on short hours contracts (some only guaranteed a few hours per week), who regularly work far more. We will strengthen the law so that those who work regular hours for more than 12 weeks will have a right to a regular contract reflecting those hours. We will also scrap the changes brought in by the Tories, which weakened the protections for workers transferring between contractors. We will consult with employers and trade unions on legislating for statutory bereavement leave, for time off work after the loss of close family members. We will also consult on toughening the law against assaulting workers who have to

enforce laws, such as age-related sales or ticketing arrangements, and who face regular abuse. Labour will maintain and strengthen the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) Early Conciliation System to try to solve workplace issues effectively. Scottish Labour remains committed to taking steps to ensure that large retail stores are closed on New Year’s Day, and would undertake the necessary research and economic impact studies prior to implementing the Christmas Day and New Year’s Day Trading (Scotland) Act in full.

Labour will also legislate to permit secure online and workplace balloting for industrial action votes and internal union elections.

Workers in Britain are among the easiest and cheapest to make redundant, meaning when multinational companies are taking decisions to downsize, British workers are at a disadvantage. We will consult with trade unions and industry on reviewing redundancy arrangements to bring workers in Britain more into line with their European counterparts.

### Self-employed workers

Self-employment can bring many benefits, freedoms and flexibilities to people. It is a vital and entrepreneurial sector of our economy. In Scotland there were 327,000 people self-employed in 2016. But there is also mounting evidence that workers are being forced into self-employment by unscrupulous employers to avoid costs and duties to workers. Labour will clamp down on bogus self-employment by:
* Shifting the burden of proof, so that the law assumes a worker is an employee unless the employer can prove otherwise
* Imposing punitive fines on employers not meeting their responsibilities, helping to deter others from doing the same
* Involving trade unions in enforcement, e.g. by giving them a seat on the executive board of the new Ministry of Labour
* Giving the Ministry of Labour the resources to enforce workers’ rights
* Banning payroll companies, sometimes known as umbrella companies, which create a false structure to limit employers’ tax liabilities and limit workers’ rights
* Giving employment agencies and employers joint responsibility for ensuring that the rights of agency workers are enforced
* Rolling out sectoral collective bargaining and strengthening trade union rights, because empowering people to claim their own rights in the workplace is the most effective means of enforcement We would also extend the rights of employees to all workers – including shared parental pay - something that will make a substantial and immediate difference to the quality of life of people in insecure work. But there are real concerns that rapid changes to the world of work are rendering existing employment categories outdated. Labour recognises that the law often struggles to keep up with the ever- changing new forms of employment and work, so will set up a dedicated commission to modernise the law around employment status. New statutory definitions of employment status would reduce the need for litigation and improve compliance. The commission will be led by legal and academic experts with representation from industry and trade unions.

## Transforming social security

### Social security

After seven years of rising poverty and inequality, Labour will rebuild and transform our social security system. Like the NHS, our social security system is there for all of us in our time of need, providing security and dignity in retirement and the basics in life should we become sick or disabled, or fall on hard times.

### Dignity for those who cannot work

Poverty in Scotland – and across the UK – is rising due to SNP and Tory attempts to balance the books on the backs of the poorest, slashing funding to public services and to social security payments. One-in-five people in Scotland are living in poverty and the latest figures show that Scotland’s food banks have handed out 488,766 three-day emergency food parcels since 2011 – with more than 150,000 going to children. While the Tories promised to make work pay, the reality is that they have completely failed. Over half of those in poverty in Scotland live in a household where at least one adult works. Research from the Centre for Regional and Economic Social Research at

Sheffield Hallam University estimates that, under a Tory government, Scotland will lose over £1 billion in social security payments by 2020/21 – on top of the £1 billion that has already been taken out of the system since 2010. Labour fought for, and won, enhanced powers over social security for the Scotland Act 2016, to allow the Scottish Parliament to create new benefits in devolved areas and top-up reserved benefits.

The majority of spending on social security in Scotland – including

Jobseeker’s Allowance, Universal Credit, and the state pension – remains under

the control of the UK government. But with the powers of the Scottish Parliament we can make different, fairer choices to those of a Tory government. We want to see these powers used as soon as is practicable, while recognising that the immediate priority must be to ensure a smooth transition from the existing system. However, when 26 per cent of people in poverty in Scotland are disabled, the second highest rate in the UK, it is morally wrong that the SNP government willingly left powers over disability payments in the hands of the Tories. A Labour government will act immediately to end the worst excesses of the Tory government’s changes, and will rebuild and transform our social security system.

We will:
* Scrap the punitive sanctions regime
* Scrap the “bedroom tax” across the UK
* Reinstate housing benefit for under-21s
* Scrap cuts to Bereavement Support Payment

The cuts to work allowances in Universal Credit (UC), and the decision to limit tax credit and UC payments to the first two children in a family, are an attack on low-income families which will increase child poverty. Labour will reform and redesign UC, ending six-week delays in payment and abolishing the abhorrent “rape clause”, a shocking policy which has been supported by Tories in Westminster and Holyrood. Labour’s decision to scrap the “bedroom tax” across the UK would free up the

£47 million a year currently used to mitigate the awful effects the tax would wreak on Scotland’s poorest and most vulnerable people. Scottish Labour has been campaigning for Carers’ Allowance to be raised to the same level as Jobseeker’s Allowance, helping 69,848 Scottish carers. The SNP has refused to do this. A Labour government will make this one of its top priorities in its first year. Labour will also scrap the punitive sanctions regime and reinstate housing benefit for under-21s, which would allow the Scottish Welfare Fund to use the money it currently spends mitigating this policy in other ways. We will also scrap Bereavement Support Payment cuts. The Tories have failed to honour their promise to tackle the barriers to work faced by people with disabilities.

Labour supports a social model of disability. People may have a condition or an impairment but are disabled by society. We need to remove the barriers in society that restrict opportunities and choices for people with disabilities. We will build on the previous Labour government’s commitment to people with disabilities in 2009 when we became signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and incorporate it into UK law. Labour will repeal many of the cuts in social security support to disabled people through a new Social Security Bill published in our first year of office. We will:
* Increase Employment and Support Allowance by £30 per week for those in the work-related activity group and repeal cuts in Universal Credit Limited Capability for Work – benefitting almost 60,000 people in Scotland
* Increase Carers’ Allowance by £11 a week to the level of Jobseeker’s Allowance
* Implement the court decision on Personal Independence Payments (PIP) so that there is real parity of esteem between those with physical and mental health conditions
* Scrap the Work Capability and PIP assessments and replace them with a personalised, holistic

assessment process which provides each individual with a tailored plan, building on their strengths and addressing barriers. Labour will end the privatisation of assessments
* End the pointless stress of reassessments for people with severe long-term conditions
* Commission a report into expanding the Access to Work programme

We will change the culture of the social security system, from one that demonises people to one that is supportive and enabling. As well as scrapping the Tories’ punitive sanctions regime, we will change how Jobcentre Plus staff are performance managed. Labour will strengthen access to justice for disabled people by enhancing the 2010 Equality Act, enabling discrimination at work to be challenged. We will ensure that under the Istanbul Convention, disability hate crime and violence against disabled women is reported annually with national action plans to address these issues.

### Dignity for pensioners

Labour will always be on the side of pensioners and will help ensure security and dignity for older people in retirement. As the Tories abandon their commitments to older people, Labour will guarantee the state pension “triple lock” throughout the next Parliament. That means it will rise by at least 2.5 per cent a year or be increased to keep pace with inflation or earnings, whichever is higher. The Winter Fuel Payment, and free bus passes at age 60, would be guaranteed by Scottish Labour as universal benefits.

We will protect the pensions of UK citizens living overseas in the EU or

further afield.

Over 2.5 million women born in the 1950s have had their state pension age changed without fair notification, leaving many in poverty. These women deserve both recognition for the injustice they have suffered, and some kind of compensation for their losses. Around 253,000 Scottish women have been affected by this change, as highlighted by the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign. Alongside our commitment to extend Pension Credit to hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable women, Labour is exploring options for further transitional protections, to ensure that all these women have

security and dignity in older age.

This must never happen again. Labour will legislate so that accrued rights to the basic state pension cannot be changed, but future benefits can.

The pension age is due to rise to 66 by the end of 2020. Labour rejects the Tories’ proposal to increase the state pension age even further, and will commission a new review of the pension age, specifically tasked with developing a flexible retirement policy to reflect both the contributions made by people, the wide variations in life expectancy, and the arduous conditions of some work.

We will restore confidence in the workplace pension system and put people, rather than profit, at its centre. Labour will end rip-off hidden fees and charges and enable the development of large efficient pensions funds, which will mean more cash for scheme members and lower costs for employers.

A Labour government will commit to an immediate review of the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme and British Coal Superannuation Scheme surplus, sharing arrangements between government and scheme beneficiaries.

## Secure homes for all

Home is at the heart of all of our lives. It’s the foundation on which we raise our families, the bedrock of our dreams and aspirations. But for too many people, the housing pressures they face are getting worse, not better. There is a housing crisis in Scotland. With overcrowding and a lack of suitable accommodation for families and people with disabilities, Scotland not only needs more homes but more of the right homes. It doesn’t have to be like this. For Labour, housing is a social justice issue. Increasing the number of affordable homes is a key priority for Labour. There are at least 150,000 households on waiting lists for housing in Scotland. Shelter Scotland has identified that 60,000 homes need to be built by the end of this Parliament to address the housing shortage, a figure Scottish Labour committed to meet. High rents are one of the driving factors preventing people from saving for their own home, pushing people into poverty and, in the most extreme cases, making people homeless. Rough sleeping in Scotland’s largest

cities has risen dramatically over the last two years, with night shelters

reporting an increase in demand of up to 94 per cent. In the last year, the number of Scots living in temporary accommodation has risen by 20 per cent. Housing costs also push many people into poverty. In Scotland, 150,000 more people are in in-work poverty, after housing costs are taken into consideration. Providing access to good quality, affordable, and stable housing is a crucial factor in achieving the conditions necessary to achieve equality of opportunity. A UK Labour government will oversee the most radical, and the largest, housebuilding programme since the war, investing to build over a million new homes. This will provide resources to the Scottish government to invest in Scotland’s housing stock. Labour will not only build more homes, we will build better homes. We will insulate more homes to help people manage the cost of energy bills, to reduce preventable winter deaths, and to meet our climate change targets. We will consult on new rules to prevent ‘rabbit hutch’ homes and on new modern standards for building ‘zero-carbon’ homes. Labour would prioritise brownfield sites, and protect the green belt.

### Home ownership

Across the UK, the number of home-owning households has fallen by 900,000 among the under-45s since 2010. In Scotland, just over a quarter of people under the age of 34 own their own home – down from just under half in 1999. It is important that the opportunity exists for people who aspire to own their own home to get onto the housing ladder.

Labour will back first-time buyers to buy that special first home.

We will guarantee Help to Buy funding until 2027 to give long-term

certainty to both first-time buyers and the housebuilding industry. We

will also give local people buying their first home ‘first dibs’ on new homes built in their area to give them confidence that new homes will be available to them and their families. Labour will build the new homes first- time buyers need – just as Labour councils have been doing right across the country.

### Private renters

Scottish Labour would end insecurity for private renters by introducing controls on rent rises. A Labour government will introduce new consumer rights for renters. Soaring rents are a real problem – leading to more families living in temporary accommodation, more rough sleeping, and many not having enough money to save up for a deposit or for a rainy day. The SNP has not met its commitment to renters. We would introduce rent controls to protect tenants from rip- off rents.

Scottish Labour would consult on introducing a charter, similar to that

in the social rent sector, to drive up standards in the private rental sector.

We will reverse the Tories’ cruel decision to abolish housing benefit for 18-21 year olds, which risks putting even more vulnerable young people on our streets. Labour will scrap the punitive “bedroom tax” across the UK, a cruel and unnecessary measure which has caused many people to be evicted from their homes and communities.

### Homelessness

Homelessness is not inevitable in a country as well off as ours, but since 2010 the number of people sleeping rough in shop doorways and on park benches has more than doubled. This shames us all. There can be no excuses – it must end.

The number of people sleeping rough in Scotland is rising. Shockingly, over the last ten months in Glasgow, four people a month have died while sleeping on the streets.

A comprehensive new cross- department strategy on tackling homelessness is required. As part of this strategy, a focus on ‘housing first’ should be considered.

This model has had success in parts of the US as well as some of the Nordic countries. It moves people directly into housing from the street and shelters without the precondition of undergoing treatment.

Labour will set out a new national plan to end rough sleeping within the next Parliament, and we will also take action to tackle the root causes of homelessness, including safeguarding homelessness hostels and other supported housing from crude Tory cuts to housing benefit.

## A healthier Scotland

### NHS

In 1945, in the aftermath of war and national bankruptcy, it was a Labour government that found the resources to create a National Health Service (NHS) – our proudest achievement, providing universal healthcare for all on the basis of need, free at the point of use. A Labour government will commit to a huge increase in annual funding by making the richest in society pay their fair share, but also by increasing tax on private medical insurance, and freeing up resources by halving the fees paid to management consultants. These transformational policies will deliver a big boost to the resources of the Scottish government, which controls the NHS in Scotland. Labour wants a healthier Scotland and an NHS free of privatisation. We will care for the NHS so that it can do its job of caring for the country. We want to prioritise Scotland’s focus and energy on our health and care sector, not on another independence referendum.

The next Labour government will invest in our NHS, to give patients the modern, well-resourced services they need for the 21st century. Labour will ensure that NHS patients get the world class quality of care they need, and enable staff to deliver the

standards which patients expect.

This means that Scotland will receive more money for our NHS with Labour than with any other party. Labour fought for and won more powers than ever before for the Scottish Parliament, which, if used fairly, could halt cuts to local budgets which are impacting so heavily on our health and care services. Labour wants to see proper support and resources for community services to deliver care closer to home and deliver a truly 21st century health system, investing in local services and freeing up resources. Labour would increase the support in local surgeries to ensure GPs have the resources they need to treat their community, and we would help rebalance their workload. To make immediate local advice more available, Labour would extend the Minor Ailments Service in community pharmacies. We would also expand the conditions covered under minor ailments to further alleviate the pressures on our local doctors.

Labour wants increased places for medical students, more GP training places, and greater government effort in encouraging more people to make general practice a career choice. Labour would invest in our health and care workforce. The SNP has

failed to properly workforce plan and caused a recruitment crisis for our health service, leaving our NHS staff overstretched and undervalued. Labour values our NHS employees, so we will end the 1 per cent pay cap imposed on staff which has worsened the recruitment crisis. We will ensure our NHS staff receive a real terms pay increase.

Scottish Labour will launch an NHS workforce commission to find solutions to the workforce crisis.

Labour will deliver a return to proper collective bargaining on pay for

health and social care workers to ensure their rights are protected and enhanced. Labour will immediately guarantee the rights of EU staff working in our health and care services, valuing the input they make to our society and public services.

### Social care

The fact that people are living longer is a true success story of our NHS. But we can’t ignore the growing pressure to care for elderly relatives being placed on families across the country which, sadly, can become increasingly difficult as family members grow more frail. The care sector is on the brink of a crisis as our increasingly elderly population puts new demands on services which are under resourced. Labour would use the powers of the Scottish Parliament to stop the cuts and invest in local services, and our plans would guarantee a social care package in place within a week of an assessment. Our proposals to improve the sector are built on properly supporting staff and adopting in full the recommendations of UNISON’s Ethical Care Charter, which will raise standards and reduce staff turnover.

Labour would ensure staff have time to care – and end the scandal of 15 minute care visits. And our £10 an hour real Living Wage will make a huge difference to workers in this and other sectors.

We would deliver a National Careworkers’ Guarantee to go even further, ensuring that staff are paid for travel costs and travel time

and that proper training is given to everyone before they enter the workplace. Labour will not stand by and leave the most vulnerable in our society to fend for themselves. We back the Frank’s Law campaign to ensure those under 65 with dementia would receive free care – but Scottish Labour would go further by removing charges regardless of age, and not just for those with prescribed conditions. We can properly shift the balance of care from expensive and needless stays in hospital to dignified care at home through these progressive policies. Labour will increase the amount paid in Carer’s Allowance for unpaid full- time carers by £11 a week, raising the level to that of Jobseeker’s Allowance.

### Mental health

Mental ill health is the biggest unaddressed health challenge of our age. Around one in four people in the UK will experience a mental health problem each year. Labour’s vision is for a Scotland where mental health is given the same priority as physical health, and we support the Scottish Association for Mental Health’s (SAMH) call for a 10-year plan for improving mental health services, and the principle of ‘Ask once, get help fast’.

We know that addressing anxiety, welfare and low level mental health issues in the classroom can be hugely beneficial for young people.

Labour’s plans would ensure that all secondary schools in Scotland have access to a qualified and appropriately experienced school counsellor, providing accessible counselling to young people who need it.

Our plans for improving mental health treatment for young people are supported by Barnardo’s Scotland.

Labour’s commitment to end austerity will target many of the causes of poor mental health and, in particular, will focus on the links between poverty, deprivation and mental ill health.

We recognise that good employment opportunities with decent pay also play a significant role in improving quality of life for individuals and their families. Only Labour is offering a pay rise to hundreds of thousands of Scots with a £10 an hour real Living Wage - a policy that experts say will make a significant impact on poverty, mental and physical ill-health. This would benefit nearly half a million Scots.

### Public health

For our health and care services to be sustainable in the long term we need a renewed commitment to keeping people fit and well. When Labour ran the Scottish government we led the whole UK with positive public health policies, like the smoking ban. Labour will continue that work with a UK-wide Tobacco Control Plan, aimed at further discouraging and deterring people from starting to smoke, de-normalising tobacco products and reducing the influence of the tobacco industry. Labour will prioritise efforts on children’s health, protecting the wellbeing of the nation for decades to come. We will fight health inequalities to break the scandalous link between child ill-health and poverty. The last Labour government lifted 120,000 children out of poverty in Scotland, but with the SNP cutting £1.5billion from our local services since 2011, we are now seeing more children in poverty each year.

It is a scandal that child poverty still exists in 21st century Scotland – and it should be a top priority for government to address.

Scottish Labour would use fairer, progressive tax plans to increase Child Benefit by an extra £5 per week
* this would lift 30,000 children out of poverty by the end of 2021. The next Labour government will publish a new childhood obesity strategy within the first 100 days, with proposals on advertising and food labelling which will have a positive impact on the lives of Scottish children. We are also calling on the Scottish government to take action on unhealthy supermarket promotions and introduce restrictions on multi- buy discounts and promotions on food high in fat, sugar and salt. Older people across the country are telling us they want a government that understands their concerns, such as loneliness and isolation. Labour wants Scotland to have a meaningful National Loneliness Strategy which would include training for doctors and health service staff on helping pensioners with depression.

## Safer communities

### Police and crime

We all expect to be able to live in a society where we are free from physical, mental and emotional harm; where our homes and belongings are secure; where our children can play safely in the street or on the internet. We expect to feel secure in the knowledge that when we need the police they are there for us and that the justice system is efficient and effective. That is why one of government’s greatest responsibilities is to ensure that our police service is able to respond when the public needs it. Similarly, it is vital that the public has confidence in the justice system, that the courts treat the victims of crime well, and that sentencing is proportionate, consistent, and effective. Labour’s pledge to recruit 10,000 more police officers to work on community beats in England and Wales will mean Scotland will benefit from an investment of £70 million. Scottish Labour would invest in Police Scotland so it can deliver a balanced workforce, where officers can focus on policing, and support staff are well resourced.

Scottish Labour will seek ways to restore the VAT exemption for

Scottish emergency services, which was lost when they were centralised by the SNP - despite warnings from Labour and trade unions. Scottish Labour is also opposed to the plan to merge the British Transport Police with Police Scotland and will fight the current legislation going through the Scottish Parliament. The SNP’s centralisation agenda in the creation of Police Scotland has put public trust in police services at risk. Transparency and accountability in the Scottish Police Authority, the regulatory body of Police Scotland, has come into question and we would ensure openness and accountability in the governance of Police Scotland. An effective anti-terrorism strategy has to command the confidence of all communities, but the current Tory government strategy has the potential to drive a wedge between the authorities and entire communities. Some feel they have been unfairly targeted and singled out. In government, Labour will conduct a major review of the strategy.

### Border security

Border security is vital in preventing serious crimes, including child abduction, people trafficking, smuggling of drugs or guns, and modern day slavery.

Contrary to the Tory government’s rhetoric, it has not taken control of our borders or strengthened our national security.

Instead, the Tories have suppressed the independent inspectors’ reports, highlighting weaknesses in our borders, because they have cut the Border Force by thousands of personnel. They want to turn private sector landlords, teachers, medical staff and other public sector workers

into unpaid immigration officers, forcing them to provide information

to the authorities.

The Tories promised and failed to deliver 100 per cent exit checks at the borders. Labour will recruit 500 more border guards to add to our safeguards and controls.

### Fire and rescue services

As with the centralisation of the police, Scotland’s fire and rescue services have come under increasing strain through budget cuts and the closure of stations and control rooms. As a result, response times have been affected and firefighters have warned that lives may be put at risk.

A Labour government will halt cuts to fire services in England and Wales,

and recruit 3,000 new firefighters – investment which would mean

a boost to Scotland’s valued emergency services.

### Justice

We all need access to the justice system to protect our rights, and to punish those who would take away our rights and freedoms. Labour will set out to make Britain a fair society with liberties for all, governed by the rule of law, and in which the law is upheld and enforced equally. The Tories threaten our Human Rights Act and may withdraw us from the European Convention on Human Rights. Labour will retain the Human Rights Act. Justice is all too often denied. Too many ordinary people know this. There are football fans, trade unionists, environmental activists and people living with disabilities whose personal experiences provide first- hand testimony. Labour will hold public inquiries into historic injustices, including the Battle of Orgreave. We would demand that similar inquiries are held into the actions of the police during the

miners’ strike in Scotland, and into blacklisting.

The pressures on the legal aid budget have made it more difficult for working people in Scotland to access justice. The closure of sheriff courts and local police counters has had the same effect. Scottish Labour welcomes the ongoing review of our legal aid process and will work hard to make sure that access to justice is available to the most disadvantaged. Scottish Labour also believes that football fans have been unfairly criminalised by the flawed legislation that is the SNP’s Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act. Labour has proposed a Member’s Bill to have this poor piece of law overturned and the Scottish Parliament has agreed it should be – but the SNP government has still failed to act.

PRISONS

AND CRIME

PREVENTION

Labour is tough on crime and the causes of crime, but we won’t make the lives of workers in the criminal justice system tougher. Prison officers, criminal justice social workers and other workers need the resources to do their jobs safely, effectively and successfully. The Scottish Prison Service needs to prioritise the safety of all members of staff by making sure employers, public or private, meet a set of minimum safety standards. Our proposal to lift the public sector pay cap should help to increase the recruitment and retention of prison officers. And a pledge to recruit 3,000 more prison officers south of the border will have a financial impact on Scotland’s budget, allowing the Scottish government to invest in the prison service. Scotland has one of the highest per capita prison populations in Europe, including a significantly higher number of people locked up on remand. Yet it does not follow that Scotland is a significantly more dangerous or more violent country than our neighbours.

It is right that serious crimes result in a prison sentence, but we must

also ensure that there are credible and robust alternatives to prison that

reduce our prison population while still keeping our communities safe.

Prison should always be a last resort and our most extreme sanction for unacceptable behaviour. It should never be a substitute for failing mental health services, or the withdrawal of funding from drug treatment centres. We would ensure the provision of mental health services for prisoners in Scotland. We believe that addressing the cause of crime, whether it is financial disadvantage, substance abuse, or poor mental health, is essential to crime prevention. That is why we have committed to pursuing preventative measures to stop people offending in the first place or from reoffending. Meaningful education and training opportunities are currently not fit for purpose. Moving towards a rehabilitative justice system which reduces reoffending with opportunities for education, training and volunteering work will save money and cut the prison population. Our justice system should therefore ensure sentences are proportionate and effective.

## Leading richer lives

### Local communities

Labour believes in devolving power to local communities, but that requires that the necessary funding follows. You cannot empower local government if you impoverish it. Councils deliver vital local services to our communities, but their budgets have been slashed by SNP cuts. Between 2010 and 2015 the Tories cut Scotland’s block grant by almost five per cent, but the SNP government has gone further. Since 2011 it has cut £1.5 billion from local services. This has led to a deterioration of local services, from bin collections to road repairs, to fewer classroom assistants in our schools, headteachers asking parents to pay for books, and the loss of important community assets. It has also led to the loss of at least 30,000 council jobs since 2009. A Labour government will give councils in England extra funding next year – and Scotland will benefit financially. Scottish Labour would look at providing councils with other ways to raise money. We would scrap the council tax, and allow local authorities to use new options, such as a tourist tax and land value tax, to ensure local government has sustainable funding for the long term.

Funding for vital local services cannot come too soon as experts predict

that, under current spending plans, another £1 billion could be cut from council budgets by the end of the decade. Labour’s fairer tax plans are the only thing that can stop the cuts and ensure the survival of good quality public services. Labour will also end the closure of Crown Post Office branches, which play a major role in serving their communities. We will set up a commission to establish a Post Bank, owned by the Post Office and providing a full range of banking services in every community. We will reduce the maximum stake on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals from £100 to £2. Labour will also legislate to increase the delay between spins on these games in order to reduce their addictive nature. Labour would support Scottish local government to secure a debt amnesty on historic public debt to the Public Works Loan Board, which is often at fixed rates well above current market rate. We would also review all public-private finance projects used by all Scottish governments past and present to ensure that the public is getting the best deal. Labour will ensure our public services have the resources they need.

We would give members of the Scottish Local Government Pension Scheme full trustee status to help control investments, and reduce fees and charges. Tory and SNP governments have taken rural communities for granted with chronic underinvestment in transport, broadband and public services. Rural infrastructure and industry has been neglected – particularly in Scotland. Labour will invest in broadband, housing and transport to create jobs and ensure that the nation’s prosperity is felt beyond our large towns and cities. Labour’s national investment plans include coastal protections, better flood management and the broadband and 4G extensions that

will underpin the future success of rural small businesses. Rural councils deliver public services differently, and Labour MPs will ensure that this is reflected in funding allocation mechanisms. We will introduce a ‘rural-proofing’ process so that all our laws, policies and programmes consider their impact on rural communities. Labour will support tourism. The tourism industry represents 9.6 per cent of UK employment, 4.9 per cent of exports, and 9 per cent of GDP, but its importance is too often forgotten. In Scotland, 217,000 people, or 8.5 per cent of workers, are employed in the tourism sector, and it represents 4.5 per cent of Scottish GDP.

Labour will ensure that tourism becomes a national priority again. We will reinstate the cross-Whitehall ministerial group on tourism, and ensure that government ministers across departments understand how their roles fit into the national tourism agenda. UK ministers will work on prioritising tourism with the devolved administrations.

The Tories and SNP have failed to provide a clear, ambitious or sustainable vision for the future of the farming, food and fishing industries.

We will expand the role of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to ensure suppliers and consumers get a fair deal.

We will reconfigure funds for farming and fishing to support smaller traders, local economies, community benefits and sustainable practices.

We will allow EU workers employed across farming, fishing and food manufacturing to remain in the UK and reinstate the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.

We would introduce a Health Food and Farming Bill which would retain the Scottish Agricultural Wages Board, which is vitally important for setting minimum wage levels, conditions, and maintaining strong health and safety practices across farming and horticultural sectors.

### Transport

Labour will invest in a modern, integrated, accessible transport system that is reliable and affordable. Our transport systems illustrate the abject failure of Tory policies; relentless deregulation, privatisation and fragmentation. In Scotland, ten years of the SNP has also left people desperate for transformative change. The Scottish public transport system is a patchwork of services, with many areas left behind with no decent provision. Bus services are grinding to a halt, bus passenger numbers have declined by 78 million since 2007, and satisfaction with ScotRail is at a 14-year low. Public money has been siphoned off through privatisation and used to fund the rocketing earnings of directors, dividends for shareholders, and the coffers of overseas governments. A different system is possible. A Labour government will prioritise public service over private profit. As Scottish Labour has demanded with ScotRail, we will start by bringing our railways back into public ownership, as franchises expire or at franchise review break clauses. We will introduce a Public Ownership of the Railways Bill to repeal the

Railways Act 1993 under which the Tories privatised our railways. This will not only right a historic wrong but end the wasteful and unnecessary process of tendering. When East Coast Rail was in public hands, it was less dependent on public subsidy than any of the 15 privately-run franchises. Between 2009 and 2013 it returned over £1 billion to the taxpayer to be reinvested in the service instead of going into the pockets of shareholders. Under Labour’s plans that can happen again. In public ownership, we will deliver real improvements for passengers by capping fares, introducing free WiFi across the network, ensuring safe staffing levels, ending the expansion of driver only operations, and introducing legal duties to improve accessibility for people with disabilities. This will benefit cross- border rail services and Labour would also extend this policy to Scotland. A publicly-owned railway system can be the backbone of our plans for integrated transport. It will be built on the platform of Network Rail, which we will retain whole, working with the Scottish Parliament and other devolved administrations. Labour will enable councils to provide first-rate bus services by extending

the powers to re-regulate local bus services to all areas that want them. We would support the creation of municipal bus companies that are publicly run for passengers not for profit. Lothian Buses in Edinburgh is an example of what can be achieved. We would protect concessionary travel for the over-60s, introduced by Labour in 2006. We would also introduce regulations to designate and protect routes of critical community value. A Labour government will invest to regenerate the local, regional and national economies across the whole country, so that every area gets its fair share of transport investment. A Labour government will complete the HS2 high speed rail line from London through Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester, and then onto Glasgow and Edinburgh, consulting with communities affected about the optimal route. We will invest in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, working with devolved administrations through the National Infrastructure Commission and its devolved counterparts. Labour supports Scotland’s lifeline ferries, such as CalMac, and wants them to remain in public hands. These services are too important to privatise and we would not subject them to tender in the future.

Our plans for active travel will encourage and enable people to get out of their cars, onto bikes and public transport, for better health and a cleaner environment. Labour will position the UK at the forefront of the development, manufacture and use of ultra-low emission and no-emission vehicles, supporting the creation of clean modes of transport. We will retrofit thousands of diesel buses in areas with the most severe air quality problems to Euro 6 standards. We would reform the legislation governing taxi and private hire services, introducing national standards to guarantee safety and accessibility, updating regulations to keep pace with technological change and ensuring a level playing field between operators. Labour will continue to upgrade our highways and improve road works at known bottlenecks. This investment would be felt across Scotland through the extra resource coming to the Scottish government. We would make utility companies return roads to a condition no worse than when they started digging. Labour recognises the need for additional airport capacity in the South East of England. We welcome the work done by the Airports Commission, and we will guarantee that any airport expansion adheres to our tests that require noise issues

to be addressed, air quality to be protected, the UK’s climate change obligations met, and growth across the country supported.

We will continue working with our neighbours through the European Union’s Highways of the Sea programme and by negotiating to retain membership of the Common Aviation Area and Open Skies arrangements.

### Environment

Investing in our environment is investing in our future. We will defend and extend existing environmental protections. We will champion sustainable farming, food and fishing by investing in and promoting skills, technology, market access and innovation. The Tories broke their promise to be the ‘greenest government ever’. They have allowed fracking in national parks, evaded their responsibilities on air quality, and cut the funding for flood defences. And in Scotland, the SNP government never tires of repeating that Scotland leads Britain in cutting CO2 emissions, yet its actions in refusing to ban fracking and planning to cut Air Passenger Duty (APD) tell a different story. Labour will not use the future of Scotland’s farming, food and fishing industries as leverage in Brexit negotiations. Only a Labour government will prioritise a sustainable, long-term future for our farming, fishing and food industries, invest in rural and coastal communities, and guarantee the protection and advancement of environmental standards.

The Tories’ Brexit plans are a threat to our environmental protections and to the quality of our lives. Their

record on combating climate change and environmental damage has been one of inaction and broken promises. The balance needs resetting: our air is polluted, our farms face an uncertain future, our fish stocks are collapsing, our oceans are used as dumping grounds, our forests, green belt, National Parks, and Sites of Special Scientific Interest are all under threat. Labour will introduce a new Clean Air Act to deal with the Tory legacy of illegal air quality. We will strive for continued implementation and monitoring of marine conservation zones for the UK “blue belt” of the seas and oceans surrounding our island, and give support to Scotland’s equivalent marine protected areas. Scottish Labour supports the introduction of plastic bottle deposit schemes, and we would work with food manufacturers and retailers to reduce waste. We will protect our bees by prohibiting neonicotinoids as soon as our EU relationship allows us to do so. We will work with farmers and foresters to plant a million trees of native species to promote biodiversity and better flood management.

Our stewardship of the environment needs to be founded on sound principles and based on scientific assessments. We will establish a science innovation fund, working with farmers and fisheries, that will include support for our fishing fleet.

### Animal welfare

Animals in our food chain need protection. Domestic animals require stronger protection from cruelty. Wild animals need a sustainable ecosystem.

Labour’s vision is for the UK to lead the world with high animal welfare standards in the wild, in farming and for domestic animals.

We would promote cruelty free animal husbandry and consult on ways to ensure better enforcement of agreed standards. We would prohibit the third-party sale of puppies, introduce a total ban on ivory trading, and support the ban on wild animals in circuses.

We will cease the badger cull, which spreads Bovine TB, and we would end snaring.

Labour ended fox hunting, deer hunting and hare coursing. Only a Labour government will ensure the bans remain across the UK, and only Labour would enhance the law and guarantee enforcement in Scotland.

### Culture for all

Britain’s creative industries are the envy of the world, a source of national pride, a driver of inward investment and tourism, and a symbol of the kind of country we are now and aspire to be in the future. As Britain leaves the EU we will put our world-class creative sector at the heart of our negotiations and future industrial strategy. We need to do more to open the arts and creative industries to everyone. Labour will introduce a £1 billion Cultural Capital Fund to upgrade our existing cultural and creative infrastructure to be ready for the digital age and invest in creative clusters across the country, based on a similar model to enterprise zones. The fund will be available over a five- year period, administered by the Arts Council in England. It will be among the biggest arts infrastructure funds ever, transforming the country’s cultural landscape. And as with all our public funding investment, Scotland will also benefit from increased spending. The Scottish government will be able to choose to follow Labour’s lead and invest this money in the

creative industries to support Scotland’s vibrant cultural sector,

from the games industry to fashion, to museums and galleries, and the world renowned Edinburgh International Festival, created by a Labour government 70 years ago to help restore unity in post-war Europe. Similarly, the arts pupil premium we will introduce for every primary school in England – a £160 million a year boost for schools – will mean more money for the Scottish government to invest in arts education. We will continue to mark the ongoing centenary of the First World War, and the sacrifice of all those who died. Labour remains committed to honouring the role of all who have served our country. Being a performer is a great career, but too often the culture of low or no pay means it is hard for those without well-off families to support them to break into this industry. We will work with trade unions and employers to agree sector specific advice and guidelines on pay and employment standards that will make the sector more accessible to all. Scottish Labour would create a First Minister’s Committee on the Arts, Culture and Creative Industries, with membership from all sectors and regions.

We will improve diversity on and off

screen, working with the film industry and public service and commercial broadcasters to find rapid solutions to improve diversity.

We recognise the serious concern about the “value gap” between producers of creative content and the digital services that profit from its use, and will work with all sides to review the way creators and artists are rewarded for their work in the digital age.

We all need to work harder to keep children safe online. Labour will ensure that technology companies are obliged to take measures that further protect children and tackle online abuse. We will ensure that young people understand and are able to easily remove content they shared on the internet before they turned 18.

### Media

The BBC is a national asset of which we should all be proud. Labour will always support it and uphold its independence. We will ensure the BBC and public service broadcasting has a healthy future. Labour is committed to keeping Channel 4 in public ownership.

The BBC is also a significant provider of jobs and opportunities for the creative industries in Scotland. That is why Scottish Labour wants more investment in BBC Scotland from within the licence fee settlement and greater commissioning responsibility for the nations and regions.

Local newspapers and broadcasting in Britain are an important part of our democracy and our culture. We are concerned about closures of local media outlets and a reduction in the number of local journalists. Labour will hold a national review into the ownership of local and national media to ensure plurality.

To protect democracy and media freedom, we will take steps to ensure that Ofcom is better able to safeguard a healthy plurality of media ownership, and to put in place clearer rules of who is fit and proper to own or run TV and radio stations.

### Sport

Sport must be run in the interests of those who participate in it and love it, not just for a privileged few. In Scotland, the “sugar tax” would fund a revolution in school sports, allowing teachers to offer new and engaging activities, giving more people the opportunity to get involved.

We would continue to support fan ownership of football clubs in Scotland, recognising that clubs are more than just businesses. They hold a special place in the heart of so many communities.

Sporting events must be open and accessible to all. We will push sports authorities to make rapid improvements on access provision for fans with disabilities.

We would work to bring together organisations such as sportscotland, the Scottish Sports Association and the Scottish Sports Volunteer Forum to create a Sports Volunteer Fund aimed at supporting people to go on coaching courses, child protection courses and mentoring schemes.

In schools we have seen the success of the “Daily Mile”, as started at St Ninian’s Primary School, Stirling, in improving health and educational outcomes, and we will support its introduction across Scotland as a normal part of the school day.

Scottish Labour would support our schools to offer a dynamic new approach to getting young people involved in sports.

## Extending democracy

### A Constitutional Convention

As we change our relationship with Europe, we must also adjust our own arrangements in the UK. Just as many felt that power was too centralised and unaccountable in Brussels, many also feel the same about Westminster and Holyrood. A Labour government will establish a Constitutional Convention to examine and advise on reform of the way Britain works at a fundamental level. We will consult on its form and terms of reference and invite recommendations on extending democracy. This is about where power and sovereignty lies – in politics, the economy, the justice system, and in our communities. The Convention will look at extending democracy locally, regionally and

nationally, considering the option of a more federalised country, which is Scottish Labour policy.

We need a relationship of equals with devolved administrations throughout the UK. Labour will create a role for a Minister for England, who will sit under the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, and will work with the Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

### No to a second independence referendum

Labour opposes a second Scottish independence referendum. It is unwanted and unnecessary, and we will campaign tirelessly to ensure that Scotland remains part of the UK. Independence would lead to

turbo-charged austerity for Scottish families. Scotland would face a £15 billion deficit if the UK were to be torn apart, hurting the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. The SNP needs to respect the verdict of the majority of Scots in 2014 and abandon its divisive plan to re-run the referendum. It needs to get on with the day job and reverse the cuts being inflicted on Scotland’s public services. Scottish Labour will never support independence, because we believe that together we're stronger.

The Tories will not increase funding to Scotland and the SNP wants to cut Scotland off from sharing the wealth of the UK. It is only by having a Labour government in Westminster that the Scottish Parliament will receive a large funding increase from our policies, and a significant number of Scots will benefit from our plans in areas reserved to the UK Parliament.

Our fundamental belief is that the second chamber of the UK Parliament should be democratically elected. In the interim period we will seek to end the hereditary principle and reduce the size of the current House of Lords as part of a wider package of constitutional reform to address the growing democratic deficit across Britain.

We would extend the scope of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act to private companies that have public contracts, and strengthen compliance with existing law. We will reduce the voting age to 16. At 16 you are eligible to pay tax, get married or even join the Army. You deserve a vote. Scottish Labour will introduce a Member’s Bill to prevent MSPs from having paid second jobs to re- establish trust between the public and politicians.

## A more equal society

The Labour Party is the party of equality and seeks to build a society and world free from all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. Labour has a strong record on progressing women’s rights and freedoms of which we can be proud. Labour brought in the Equal Pay Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Equality Act and the National Minimum Wage. Every progressive piece of equality legislation has only been delivered because of Labour support. It was a Labour government that enshrined the rights and freedoms contained in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law, marking the birth of the Human Rights Act.

Under the Tories, progress is being rolled back for women, people with disabilities, LGBTI people and Black and Minority Ethnic communities. Cuts to public services and social security are landing disproportionately on women and ethnic minorities, with 86 per cent of the money raised from the Tories’ tax and social security changes coming from the pockets of women.

Devastating cuts to the Equality and Human Rights Commission by

the Tories reveal their real attitude, beyond the rhetoric, to issues of equality and discrimination. These cuts have been made amid the rise in hate crime recorded by the police across the UK in the last year. A Labour government will enhance the powers and functions of this Commission, making it truly independent, to ensure it can support ordinary working people to effectively challenge any discrimination they may face. A Labour government will reinstate the public sector equality duties and seek to extend them to the private sector, ensuring all citizens benefit from this Labour legislation.

### Women

The advances for women in Britain and around the world have been fought for, and won by, determined women working together for real change – often in the face of resistance and even abuse. Labour has a proud record on progressing women’s rights and freedoms. We brought in the Equal Pay Act, the Sex Discrimination Act, the Equality Act and the National Minimum Wage. Ours will be a government for women, with a Cabinet of at least 50 per cent women that fights inequality and misogyny in every part of society. A Labour government will gender audit all policy and legislation for its impact on women before implementation.

Labour will continue to ensure a woman’s right to choose a safe, legal abortion. We will work with the Assembly to extend that right to women in Northern Ireland. Scottish Labour opposes any changes to current abortion laws in Scotland. Violence against women and girls continues to be a global epidemic affecting an estimated one in three women worldwide. In the UK, on average two women are killed by their current or former partner every week. Labour welcomes the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Bill, creating a new specific offence to help tackle domestic abuse. Scottish Labour has secured three-year rolling funding from the Scottish government for Violence Against Women organisations to ensure they can plan for the long term to help women and

girls.

Maternity discrimination under the Tories is out of control, almost doubling in the past ten years.

Many mothers are reluctant to raise complaints about discrimination and unfair treatment in the workplace. Unlawful maternity and pregnancy discrimination is now more common in Britain’s workplaces than ever before, with 54,000 pregnant women and new mothers forced out of their jobs in 2015.

Labour will reverse the unfair employment tribunal fees that price people out of justice. The SNP has the power to do this in Scotland but has failed to act.

Labour will work with the Health and Safety Executive to make a workplace risk assessment for pregnant women mandatory so necessary adaptions can be made, and review support for women who have had miscarriages.

Scottish Labour will introduce a Member’s Bill to tackle the public health issue of period poverty, which prices sanitary products out of the reach of women and girls without the means to purchase what they need.

### LGBTI equality

Labour has a proud record of championing the fight for LGBTI equality. We abolished Section 28 – Section 2A in Scotland - equalised the age of consent, created civil partnerships, and it was only through Labour votes that equal marriage became law across the UK. But there is still a long way to go on issues such as education, equal access to public services, levels of LGBTI hate crime, and mental and physical wellbeing. A Labour government will reform the Equality Act 2010 to ensure it protects trans people by changing the protected characteristic of ‘gender assignment’ to ‘gender identity’ and remove other outdated language such as ‘transsexual’. We would adopt a zero tolerance

approach to hate crime, including that motivated by religion, race, sexual orientation and gender identity. But we know that recognition in law can’t be the end of the road – winning over hearts and minds, and changing society’s attitudes, is just as important. Labour wants every LGBTI person – whether young or old – to be able to live a life free from discrimination, and instead to have an expectation of inclusion in all walks of life, including sport. Labour would deliver access to consistent sex education which considers LGBTI relationships and sexual health. Labour is fully committed to a strategy for dealing with homophobic, transphobic and biphobic bullying in our schools, and a change in the law so that trans young people can be recognised as the gender they live from the age of

16, rather than 18. To tackle bullying of LGBTI young people, Labour would ensure that all teachers receive initial and ongoing training on the issues students face and how to address them. And we would ensure that the new guidance for relationships and sex education is LGBTI inclusive. Likewise, we would ensure all frontline health and social care professionals receive ongoing training to understand and meet the needs of LGBTI patients and service users. Labour backed NHS Scotland’s introduction of PrEP, a preventative treatment for people at risk of, or living with, HIV. A Labour government will continue to work towards ending the stigma of HIV in society.

### Diverse communities

Now more than ever, we need to celebrate the profound and enriching transformation brought about by the diversity of people in this country, with all their different experiences, talents and contributions. Black and Asian-owned businesses are an important and growing feature of our economy and society. These businesses are important not just because of their financial contribution; they have also helped transform particular sectors of the economy. The Labour Party is the party of equality. We seek to build a society free from all forms of racism, anti- Semitism and Islamophobia.

We should all be deeply troubled by the rise in racially aggravated attacks and race hate crimes since the EU referendum vote. Anti-Semitic incidents are also on the rise once more and we are committed to combatting this trend with adequate resources and firm political will.

Commissioning a report on our own party was an unprecedented step in British politics, demonstrating a commitment to tackling prejudice wherever it is found. Labour is

already acting on recommendations, including reform of internal disciplinary procedures to make them firmer and fairer, and an expansion of training to tackle anti-Semitism. On a matter of such importance, Labour urges all democratic political parties to do the same. We will end racism and discrimination against Gypsy/Travellers and Roma communities, and protect the right to lead a nomadic way of life. Black and Asian workers still suffer a massive pay gap. By introducing equal pay audit requirements on large employers, Labour will close the pay gap. By making the minimum wage a real Living Wage, we will benefit ethnic minority workers who are more likely to be on low pay. We will implement the Parker Review recommendations to increase ethnic diversity on the boards of Britain’s largest companies.

### People with disabilities

Over the last seven years people with disabilities have been failed by the Tory government. People with disabilities have been vilified with divisive rhetoric like ‘scroungers’ and ‘shirkers’. In this climate, recorded disability hate crime has increased across the UK. Last year the UN published a report concluding that the Tory government had committed “grave, systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities.” Currently 4.2 million disabled people live in poverty in Britain – 23 per cent of people in families including a disabled adult live in poverty in Scotland - and the disability employment gap remains stubbornly high.

Labour believes in the social model of disability – that it is society which disables people, and it is our job to remove barriers. The previous Labour government signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The next Labour government will sign the UNCRPD into UK law.

Labour will act to tackle discrimination, remove barriers, and

ensure social security delivers dignity and empowerment, not isolation and stigma. Labour will legislate to make terminal illness a protected characteristic under the Equality Act.

Learning disabilities and autism cover a wide range of conditions that reflect neurological differences among people. We will work with employers, trades unions and public services to improve awareness of neurodiversity in the workplace and society.

## A global Britain

Labour will take all necessary measures to protect the security of our citizens and country. We will put conflict resolution and human rights at the heart of foreign policy, commit to working through the UN, end support for unilateral aggressive wars of intervention, and back effective action to alleviate the refugee crisis. Unlike the Tories, Labour believes Britain’s foreign policy should be guided by the values of peace, universal rights and international law. Today, these values are being tested. As we leave the European Union, keeping Britain global is one of our country’s most urgent tasks.

We face the most complex, interwoven security and development challenges of our time: ongoing wars across the Middle East; unprecedented numbers of refugees; global terrorism; climate change; the threat of nuclear conflict; a devastating food crisis across East Africa and beyond; an erratic US administration; and a more combative government in Russia. The lessons of the past, including those from the Chilcot Inquiry, show why our response to these challenges must be different.

We cannot seek to solve the world’s problems on our own, but instead must exhaust diplomatic solutions alongside international, regional and local partners within the framework of international law. This will require a modern and inclusive strategy, uniting the interwoven foreign policy instruments of diplomacy, defence and development.

### Diplomacy

Labour recognises that, in leaving the EU, Britain will face both challenges and opportunities. We are deeply ambitious for our country’s future and will draw on our international networks to make Britain a champion of multilateral engagement. We will invest in the UK’s diplomatic services, rebuilding some of the key capabilities lost as a result of Tory cuts.

Since the Second World War, Britain’s most important diplomatic relationship has been with the US. But that special relationship is based on shared values. When the current Trump administration chooses to ignore them, whether by discriminating on the basis of religion or breaking its climate change commitments, we will not be afraid to disagree. From the Middle East to Africa, in recent years millions of people have been killed, injured or displaced through wars, terrorism and military intervention. In Syria alone, more than 400,000 people have been killed. Labour will work tirelessly to end the conflict and get the diplomatic process back on track, while fully supporting international efforts to investigate, prosecute and convict the perpetrators of war crimes.

Labour is strongly committed to reducing human suffering caused by war. We will publish a strategy for protecting civilians in conflict, setting out detailed plans for work on conflict prevention and resolution, post- conflict peacebuilding, and justice for the victims of war crimes. Labour has created a Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament to lead this work. Labour is committed to a comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on a two-state solution – a secure Israel, alongside a secure and viable 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. That means both an end to the blockade, occupation and settlements, and an end to rocket

and terror attacks. Labour will continue to press for an immediate return to meaningful negotiations leading to a diplomatic resolution. A Labour government will immediately recognise the state of Palestine.

We will also urge negotiations towards a political resolution in all other regions currently experiencing conflict, including Kashmir, Libya, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia and Yemen, and give our strong support to those countries already working to end decades of division, including Colombia, Cyprus and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In other regions, including the Korean Peninsula and the South China Sea, rising tensions threaten global peace. Under a Labour government, Britain will work to reduce those tensions through an insistence on multilateral political dialogue.

From Afghanistan and Iraq to the streets of European cities, Daesh continues to commit acts of indiscriminate barbarism. We will take all lawful action necessary to counter and confront this evil, and we will advocate a long-term multinational political strategy, led by regional actors, to tackle the spread of extremism. In our discussions with different governments, including China, Egypt, the Gulf States, Myanmar, the Philippines, Russia and Turkey, we

will urge respect for human rights and the rule of law. We will review all training and equipment contracts with repressive regimes, to ensure that Britain never colludes in the mistreatment of civilians.

We will always stand up for the rights, interests and self-determination of Britain’s overseas territories and their citizens, whether protecting the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands against anyone who would seek to challenge it, or supporting the right of the Chagos islanders to return to their homelands. We will reclaim Britain’s leading role in tackling climate change, working hard to preserve the Paris Agreement and deliver on international commitments to reduce emissions while mitigating the impacts of climate change on developing countries.

While strengthening our commitment to the UN, we also acknowledge its shortcomings, particularly in light of repeated abuses of the veto power by some permanent members of the UN Security Council. We will work with our international partners to build support for UN reform and make its institutions more effective and responsive. We will appoint dedicated global ambassadors for women’s rights, LGBTI rights and religious freedom to fight discrimination and promote equality globally.

Exports, trade and investment play a vital role in creating jobs and growth in Britain, and Labour supports the considerable contribution that a responsible, world-leading defence and security industry makes to the UK economy. However, we also believe that strong export controls have a vital role to play in sustaining a legitimate trade in arms, while protecting UK jobs and research and development.

Labour will therefore implement the Arms Trade Treaty to a consistently high standard, including ceasing arms exports to countries where there is concern that they will be used to violate international humanitarian law (IHL).

In particular, Labour will demand a comprehensive, independent, UN-led investigation into alleged violations of IHL in Yemen, including air strikes on civilians by the Saudi-led coalition. We will immediately suspend any further arms sales for use in the conflict until that investigation is concluded.

Labour remains committed to an independent inquiry into Britain’s military role in the 1984 raid on the Golden Temple in Amritsar.

### Defence

The primary duty of any government is to protect and defend its citizens. We live in a period of growing international tensions. A strong, viable and sustainable defence and security policy must be strategic and evidence led. As previous incoming governments have done, a Labour government will order a complete strategic defence review when it comes into office – to assess the emerging threats facing Britain, including hybrid and cyber warfare. Cyber security will form an integral part of our defence and security strategy and we will introduce a cyber security charter for companies working with the Ministry of Defence. We will ensure that our Armed Forces are properly equipped and resourced to respond to wide-ranging security challenges. Labour will commit to effective UN peacekeeping, including support for a UN Emergency Peace Service. As the security threats and challenges we face are not bound by geographic borders, it is vital that as Britain leaves the EU we maintain our close relationship with our European partners. Alongside our commitment to NATO we will continue to work

with the EU on a range of operational missions to promote and support global and regional security. The last Labour government consistently spent above the NATO benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP on defence. Tory spending cuts have put Britain’s security at risk, shrinking the Army to its smallest size since the Napoleonic wars. The scrapping of Nimrod, HMS Ark Royal and the Harrier jump jets, have weakened our defences and cost British taxpayers millions. Scottish Labour would pause military base closures in Scotland until the UK government has carried out a full and proper assessment of the potential economic impact. Labour’s commitment to spending at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence will guarantee our Armed Forces have the necessary capabilities to fulfil the full range of obligations, and ensure our conventional forces are versatile and able to deploy rapidly in a range of roles. Defence is a reserved issue and UK Labour continues to support the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent. As a nuclear armed power, our country has a responsibility to fulfil our international obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Labour will lead multilateral efforts with international partners and the UN to create a nuclear free world. The UK defence industry is world- leading and Labour will continue to support development and innovation in this sector and ensure that it can continue to rely on a highly skilled workforce. We are committed to a procurement process that supports our steel industry and defence manufacturing industry, which in turn provide good jobs throughout the supply chain. Labour will publish a Defence Industrial Strategy white paper, including a National Shipbuilding Strategy, to secure a long term future for the industry, workers and UK defence. Shipbuilding makes a significant contribution to Scotland’s economy and both the UK and Scottish governments must continue to work to ensure that the Rosyth dockyard and Clyde shipyards’ highly skilled, world-class workforce is protected and maintained. We have a duty to properly reward and remunerate our Armed Forces personnel. Under the Tories, our Armed Forces have been hit by rent rises, pay restraint, and changes to tax and benefits, putting real pressure on service personnel and their families. We will ensure they get the pay and living conditions that their service merits.

Dedicated service personnel are at the heart of our defence policy. Labour will immediately examine recruitment and retention policies in order to stem the exodus seen under the Tories. We will publish new strategic equality objectives to ensure our personnel reflect our diverse society. We will drive up standards in Service Accommodation, and take action where private companies have failed to deliver. We will consult with service personnel, giving them greater autonomy over their housing choices, and review and improve the Forces Help to Buy scheme. Personnel who are injured while serving should have prompt access to support and compensation. We will resist any Tory proposals to abolish the right to seek legal redress against the MoD where compensation claims cannot be otherwise settled. We are fully committed to supporting our veterans. We will promote greater awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant, seek greater consistency in its implementation by public authorities, and promote increased participation in the Corporate Covenant. Scottish Labour supports a plan to roll out a Homes Fit for Heroes programme that will insulate the homes of disabled veterans for free.

### Development

Labour has a proud record on international development. We will continue to spend 0.7 per cent of gross national income on official development assistance, and develop a targeted development agenda based on the principles of redistribution, social justice, women’s rights and poverty reduction.

Labour will take robust action to end the self-regulation of the Department of International Development private contractors, establishing new rules and enforcing them to ensure aid is used to reduce poverty for the many, not to increase profits for the few. We fully support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed globally to eradicate poverty and protect the environment. Labour will develop a cross-government strategy for ensuring the SDGs are implemented, and report annually to Parliament on our performance. In the wake of Brexit, and in fulfilment of our national obligations under the SDGs, Labour will guarantee the world’s least developed countries continued access to the UK market to protect their vital export revenues. There are now more refugees and displaced people around the world than at any time since the Second

World War. This is a failure of diplomacy, conflict resolution and of human rights, which is why they will be at the heart of Labour’s foreign policy. The Tories have completely failed to show any leadership on this issue. In the first 100 days of government we will produce a cross-departmental strategy on the refugee crisis so that we meet our international obligations.

The current global tax system is deeply unjust. Africa’s economies alone lose more than £46 billion a year through corruption and tax evasion – more than 10 times what they receive in aid. Labour will act decisively on tax havens. We will introduce strict standards of transparency for crown dependencies and overseas territories, including a public register of owners, directors, major shareholders and beneficial owners for all companies and trusts. Scottish Labour is pursuing a land register as part of the Land Reform Act to ensure that purchasing land in Scotland is not used as a way to evade tax or launder money. We will work in partnership with communities in the Global South to develop long-term strategies for strengthening economies and societies. We would reinstate the Civil Society Challenge Fund to support

trade unions, women’s associations and other civil society organisations, which are the most effective forces in winning human rights and workers’ rights. Jobs in global supply chains can be of enormous importance to working people across the Global South, but human rights abuses and exploitation of lower environmental standards and workers’ rights is too common. Labour is committed to ensuring respect for human rights, workers’ rights and environmental sustainability in the operations of British businesses around the world, and we will work to tighten the rules governing corporate accountability for abuses in global supply chains. Labour will work with business to ensure the provisions of the Modern Slavery Act are fully respected,

including reporting on due diligence in supply chains. At least a billion people suffer each year because they cannot obtain the health services they need, and another 100 million are pushed below the poverty line as a result of paying for the services they receive. A Labour government will establish a Centre for Universal Health Coverage, providing global partnerships, support and encouragement to countries that want UHC, helping them to generate adequate sources of funding and the systems required for delivery. We will invest in new public health driven research and development to find effective and affordable treatments for diseases in the developing world, and we will invest in fighting TB, HIV, malaria, HIV/AIDS and neglected tropical diseases.