The speech made by Ian Murray, the Secretary of State for Scotland, on 23 September 2024.
Conference – it is a privilege to be here in Liverpool as just one of Scottish Labour’s 37 Members of Parliament.
Let me just say that again – 37 Scottish Labour MPs.
Conference, they are all fantastic and they will do wonderful things in their communities
Each of them will do wonderful things in their communities and for Scotland. Thank you to each and every one of them.
Dare I say I’m as happy as Larry. Although, as some of you may have heard, he isn’t always happy to see me.
In his final campaign visit to Scotland, the Prime Minister, first time saying that as well reiterated what he first said back in 2020, that “the route to a Labour government runs through Scotland”.
By voting Labour, Scottish voters kicked out the Tories and put Scotland at the heart of government. It is the privilege of my political life to serve in Keir Starmer’s cabinet, working alongside the brilliant Kirsty McNeil as Scotland Office minister and Melanie Ward as PPS.
We’ve got Martin McCluskey in the Whips office, Douglas Alexander serving as Trade Minister, and of course Energy Minister Michael Shanks, whose seismic by-election victory in Rutherglen a year ago kick-started our most successful general election campaign in a generation.
But conference – none of this was inevitable. There is nothing in the political rule book which says a failing government must give way to the opposition.
We won in Scotland because we planned and executed a winning strategy – which promised what the Scottish people demanded- change. It began with Keir Starmer changing our party to put it back in the service of working people.
And it was powered by the energy, enthusiasm and maybe a wee bit of dancing of Anas Sarwar. Our campaign was implemented meticulously by a world class team of Scottish Labour staff and activists, led by our fantastic Scottish General Secretary, John Paul. John Paul thank you to you and your team.
As co-chair of the Scottish campaign, along with that indefatigable legendary Dam of Dumbarton, Jackie Ballie, I was so proud to see that hard work pay off. Jackie Thank you for everything you did.
Conference – we should be proud of our success. It took us 14 years to get rid of one of Scotland’s two failing governments but the real hard work started the day after the election to get rid of the other one.
There are only five hundred and ninety-two days until Scots return to the polls. Or 591 sleeps as my daughter would say.
And as wonderful as July’s result was, we can take nothing for granted.
Those who voted for Labour in Scotland on the 4th of July voted for change because they had been let down badly by their two governments.
They did not ‘come home’ to Labour.
They chose us in the hope and expectation that we will deliver for them.
And that is what we must, and are determined, to do.
We know it will not be easy but there is a real sense of this Labour purpose to the tough choices that will need to be made to fix the foundations. By fixing those foundations we can build that brighter future for every part of our country.
And as the Prime Minister, the Chancellor just before lunch and Anas Sarwar have said repeatedly there will be no return to austerity. And I want to say that again – there will be no return to austerity.
My team and I in the Scotland Office will play our part. Supported by the most dedicated and professional team of civil servants, we have reset the relationship with the Scottish Government.
There are many, many, many things on which Labour and the SNP will never agree, but grown-up politics means two governments working together. It’s what most Scots expect and what we will deliver.
But Conference, I will also not shy away from calling out the tragic failure of the SNP. 860,000 of our fellow Scots stuck on NHS waiting lists. 10,000 of our children with no home to call their own.
The worst attainment gap between the richest and the poorest pupils on record. Tax decisions this year that cost more than they raised, with working people paying more but getting less, while the SNP make £500m cuts to services, all to pay for their financial incompetence.
The Scottish people deserve better – and my department The Scotland Office has a crucial role in changing things now.
The Scotland Office has four priorities to help deliver our governments’ missions.
Economic growth. Green energy. Brand Scotland. And of course Tackling Poverty.
I want to see the Scotland Office working directly with the Scottish government and local governments in Scotland to drive growth in every community.
Powering that growth will be GB Energy to create jobs, drive down bills and ensure our existing world class energy workforce can lead and benefit from these new industries of the future.
GB Energy will be owned by the public, and, Conference I can exclusively announce today, headquartered in Scotland.
We will also drive growth by promoting Brand Scotland. From shipbuilding, science and salmon to scotch, culture and services, we’re the best in the world, and by selling Scotland to the world we can unlock jobs and all of that investment.
Gordon Brown once spoke of prudence with a purpose.
And all that work to grow our economy, to go green, and promote our brand, has a purpose too – to tackle the scourge of poverty.
To raise wages, protect and invest in public services and ensure everyone in life has the security of good work and the opportunity to succeed.
Conference, lifting people out of poverty is what Labour Governments do. It’s in our DNA. We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.
The financial inheritance we knew about will be challenging, compounded by the £22 billion black hole we didn’t know about – another act of astonishing economic vandalism from the Tories that they’ve just walked away from with no responsibility.
But the economic inheritance we face isn’t just fiscal. It is also structural. It is also industrial. The foundations of Scotland’s industrial economy are incredibly fragile. We have seen that in the last month.
None of this is a coincidence. It is a consequence of more than a decade without an industrial strategy for Scotland.
Scotland has a strongly industrial past – and it will have a bright industrial future which guarantees jobs and wealth for families for generations and generations to come if we get the transition to net zero right.
Our plan is a good one. Rooted in Labour values and with a clear purpose.
It is a plan which will begin to deliver the change Scotland, remember that phrase – and set the conditions for success in 592 days’ time – when the people of Scotland will have the chance to vote for change.
To elect a Labour government in Scotland which works hand in glove with Keir Starmer’s government; and make my friend Anas Sarwar our next First Minister.
Conference, change in Scotland began on the 4th of July. The opportunity to deliver lasting change is in all our hands. Let’s take that opportunity and let’s deliver it.
