Kezia Dugdale: Scotland '˜crucial' in next election

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said Scotland will be a 'crucial' battleground during the next general election.
She spoke as the partys UK leader, Jeremy Corbyn, prepares for a tour of Scotland beginning tomorrow. Picture Greg MacveanShe spoke as the partys UK leader, Jeremy Corbyn, prepares for a tour of Scotland beginning tomorrow. Picture Greg Macvean
She spoke as the partys UK leader, Jeremy Corbyn, prepares for a tour of Scotland beginning tomorrow. Picture Greg Macvean

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale has said Scotland will be a “crucial” battleground during the next general election.

She spoke as the party’s UK leader, Jeremy Corbyn, prepares for a tour of Scotland beginning tomorrow.

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Ms Dugdale said: “Scotland will be crucial at the next General Election, whenever it comes. Labour has a message that resonates with people across Scotland and that saw seats won and majorities slashed across Scotland.”

She added: “Next time around we are ready to win those seats – and help deliver a government that works for the many, not the few.” Tory MSP Miles Briggs said: “Had he won the General Election, Corbyn would have sold Scotland out in a heartbeat, and that ambivalence to Scotland’s place in the UK hasn’t changed.”
Mr Corbyn has kept his party in campaigning mode since June in case Theresa May’s minority government collapses.

Of the 64 seats Labour needs to win to secure a parliamentary majority, more than a quarter are in Scotland, according to the party.

“Scotland holds the keys to a delivering a Labour government for the whole United Kingdom,” Mr Corbyn said.

“We have stayed on an election footing all summer, and nowhere is more important to delivering another Labour government than Scotland.”

Citing policies such as a £10-an-hour minimum wage, a ban on zero hour contracts, and tax rises to fund public services, he added: “The only way to deliver the truly radical change that Scotland needs is to back Labour in Scotland.”

Mr Corbyn is due to hold a series of campaign events speaking to thousands of voters in constituencies where SNP MPs have wafer-thin majorities.