JIM Murphy will today attempt to wrap Scottish Labour in the Saltire as he pledges the rebirth of his party as a patriotic force rooted in Scots history and putting the country first. In his first major speech since becoming leader, the East Renfrewshire MP will call for changes to the partys constitution to seal its autonomy from UK Labour and emphasise its commitment to campaigning in the national interest of Scotland. Symbolically, the new mission statement will be set out in clause four of Scottish Labours constitution. The move echoes Tony Blairs decision to scrap clause four of the UK party constitution, a step which ended its decades-old commitment to the nationalisation of industry and was seen as a vital step in the partys modernisation. The new clause four will define Scottish Labour as a patriotic party whose values are rooted in the ethics of Burns poetry, the economic vision of New Lanark and the actions of the Highlanders who took on brutal landlords, Mr Murphy will tell supporters in Glasgow. It will also confirm Scottish Labours control over policy making, its commitment to a permanent Scottish Parliament and reaffirm its mission to create a fairer society. In addition, the party will set out in black and white its belief in solidarity with people from the rest of the UK, insisting that complements putting Scotland first. Mr Murphy aims to introduce the changes at the partys conference next Spring, exactly 20 years after Mr Blair ended the commitment to nationalisation. The new leader will describe his reforms as the biggest change in Scottish Labours history, amounting to the refounding and rebirth of our Scottish Labour Party. He will tell party members: This is a clause four moment for a different time and a different purpose. Tony Blair rewrote clause four of UK Labour to bring us closer to the centre of politics. I want to rewrite clause four of Scottish Labour to bring us closer to the centre of Scottish life. He will add: Today Scottish Labours challenge is that some people feel they cant be Labour and make a patriotic choice. The change we need goes deeper than the leadership style of a new team. If this is to be a genuinely fresh start for our party we need to make more fundamental change. Mr Murphys reforms follow repeated polls showing the SNP are perceived as the party that best stands up for Scotland, a claim Nicola Sturgeon is set to highlight during the looming general election campaign. Under previous leader Johann Lamont, Scottish Labour rarely made an issue of its patriotism, partly from a belief it could not hope to out-Nat the Nationalists. Mr Murphy won the party leadership convincingly on Saturday, achieving a 55 per cent share of the vote. In an interview yesterday, he said he would offer defeated rivals Neil Findlay and Sarah Boyack jobs when he comes to assemble his frontbench team for Holyrood later this week. He also said he would look way beyond Labour, way beyond the trade unions to fill key roles in the party and would seek to recruit non-party figures and independence supporters to a new Team Labour. In comments that will fuel speculation about his future at Westminster, he said he was not attracted to serving as both an MP and MSP. Mr Murphy confirmed he would seek to become an MSP in 2016, if not sooner, and said he will announce early next year whether he plans to stand in East Renfrewshire again in Mays general election. A poll at the weekend put the SNP 20 points ahead of Labour - on 47 per cent support to 27 per cent - in the race for Westminster seats. Mr Murphy said he was confident and determined to hold onto Labours 41 Scottish seats, but added: Its feasible but its tough. Urging SNP and Lib Dem voters to back Labour, he added: We can either protest against the Tories or we can replace the Tories. Comments Richard Holmes, Orkney Well he can wrap Labour in as many Saltires as he likes; fact remains the Labour Party puts the best interests of the Labour Party ahead of those of the people of Scotland. Voters will not forget that Labours devolution offerings were pitiful, offering less than the Tories or the LibDems, before they were forced to make their panicked vow. Richard Holmes, Orkney Urging SNP and Lib Dem voters to back Labour, he added: We can either protest against the Tories or we can replace the Tories. If Scottish Labour had backed independence, then we would have banished the Westminster Tories forever, so it is hypocritical for Labour to play this card. And it is a fallacious argument in any case; the SNP have categorically stated that they would not support a Tory government. ROBERT SIM, Lerwick He also said he would look way beyond Labour, way beyond the trade unions to fill key roles in the party and would seek to recruit non-party figures and independence supporters to a new Team Labour. Team Labour: a slogan with no principles and no values behind it. The word team comes first because it has pleasant connotations - sport, working together - and that allows us to forget the tricky (for Murphy) connotations of the party name that comes second. This is about rebranding Labour in Scotland. But when the brand and the marketing come first and the principles are non-existent or off-the-shelf, then the consumer will ultimately realise that there is nothing inside the shiny packaging once its stripped off. Peter Piper, Ayrshire In addition, the party will set out in black and white its belief in solidarity with people from the rest of the UK, insisting that complements putting Scotland first If Scottish Labour is going to have solidarity with the people from the rest of the UK, then it will have to have exactly the same policies for Scottish Labour as the UK Labour Party have, there is no other way of achieving that. It doesnt complement putting Scotland first, it totally prevents it. It puts the UK first, full stop. Murphy is saying that Scottish Labour will have full autonomy to fully 100% endorse the UK Labour party policies, lock, stock and smoking austerity. Ummm, solidarity with the people from the rest of the UK would also mean an end to all differences in devolved policies such as free tuition fees which would mean students charged £9,000 a year, subscription charges, etc. In fact if fully observed, it would mean an end to Devolution. Either thats what he plans, or Murphy hasnt thought this rhetoric through. No wonder the London Party and Miliband are celebrating Murphys win in the election as Leader. He is going to deliver Scottish Labour, via its Constitution, in total obedient subservient bondage to the London party, even more than it is right now. Bill Brown Too little, too late, Jim. No one will believe you. The very fact that Scottish Labour elected Mr Murphy, tells you that they are still not listening. Having said that, Im delighted that they did. Patricia Calder, GLASGOW Bill Brown He is the answer to a YES campaigners prayer. Paul Cochrane, Paisley To complete the pound store Blairs volte-face I await his I voted YES! moment. Alisdair Scott, Perth Something that doesnt exist cannot be reborn.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Dec 2014 07:13:37 +0000
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