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Labour 'shift' over independence | Labour 'shift' over independence |
(1 day later) | |
Scotland could survive as an independent country, a senior Labour politician has acknowledged. | |
Scotland Office Minister David Cairns said he did not believe the country would "wither and die" if it was to break from the UK. | |
It marks a shift in tone from Labour's Holyrood election campaign, where it claimed people in Scotland would end up "broke" without the UK. | |
The campaign was widely criticised by opponents for being too negative. | The campaign was widely criticised by opponents for being too negative. |
Mr Cairns warned his party that it had to find a way of articulating "an innate pride in Scotland" without the "reactionary nationalism" of the SNP. | |
It is not only the Nationalists who have a passion for Scotland, it's just that they wear it on their sleeves and lapels David Cairns MPScotland Office Minister | It is not only the Nationalists who have a passion for Scotland, it's just that they wear it on their sleeves and lapels David Cairns MPScotland Office Minister |
He told a Labour youth conference in Glasgow: "Scottish Labour does not believe that Scotland would wither and die as an independent country." | |
He argued that Labour believes in "common endeavour", saying: "Just as this is true of communities and society, so it is true of our country." | |
Mr Cairns told his audience that the party must reform its policies and renew its "bond of trust with the people" in readiness for a public disenchantment with the SNP's "broken promises". | |
The party must articulate policies in tune with people's "hopes and ambitions" - but must also find a way of inspiring voters by appealing to their hearts as well as their heads. | The party must articulate policies in tune with people's "hopes and ambitions" - but must also find a way of inspiring voters by appealing to their hearts as well as their heads. |
'Labour's negativity' | |
Recalling an advert during the election campaign which featured prominent footballers, he said: "Legends from across the Old Firm divide, including such greats as Sir Alex Ferguson, Walter Smith and Billy McNeill, wrote of their tremendous pride in being both Scottish and British. | |
"It was simple, almost understated. But its quiet emotional appeal demonstrated that it is not only the Nationalists who have a passion for Scotland, it's just that they wear it on their sleeves and lapels." | "It was simple, almost understated. But its quiet emotional appeal demonstrated that it is not only the Nationalists who have a passion for Scotland, it's just that they wear it on their sleeves and lapels." |
SNP depute leader Nicola Sturgeon said Labour's negativity had been one of the key reasons it lost the Scottish Parliament elections in May. | |
She said: "Labour in Scotland have played the same scaremongering game for years, flying in the face of the facts about Scotland's ability to prosper as an independent country - most recently the evidence that Scotland would be the third wealthiest nation in the EU with a fair share of our North Sea resources." |
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