ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO MURNAGHAN, SKY NEWS

DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now then, the Labour party has been warned it could face a series of losses in May’s local and national elections.  In Scotland the Holyrood elections will be a crucial test of how the party is faring under Jeremy Corbyn after being all but wiped out last year in the general election.  Well I am joined now by Kezia Dugdale, the leader of Scottish Labour, she’s in Edinburgh and a very good morning to you.  Now we know you are going to talk to your Shadow Cabinet colleagues this week, are you going to tell Jeremy Corbyn and others that you are in a desperate situation in Scotland?  

KEZIA DUGDALE:  No, I’m going down to London to tell people there that the Scottish Labour party is fighting fit, that we have renewed our values, that we have come up with some really good positive policies that represent the views of people here in Scotland, closing that gap between the richest and the poorest kids in our schools, addressing Scotland’s  housing crisis by building 60,000 affordable houses and helping young people buy their first home.  We’ve got a really progressively positive plan for this year’s election and I am looking forward to sharing it with colleagues later this week.    

DM: Yes, but are you looking forward to sharing some of the predictions, according to the polling at the moment – of course it is a more complicated system in Scotland than during the general election, you have elements of first past the post and then you have lists as well, and your candidates, some of the candidates we heard, certainly for the direct elections may well get wiped out.  

KEZIA DUGDALE: We have of course got a proportional system in Scotland so Scotland will get a mix of politicians from a variety of different backgrounds but every single Labour candidate that is standing in this election is standing based on their values and putting forward a very positive case for why you should vote Labour.  We are the only party in Scotland that exists solely to tackle poverty and inequality and we are looking to meet the hopes and aspirations of people across the country, to get the best possible education for their kids, to ensure that the healthcare system is fit for their needs and to help young people get on in life, helping them buy their first home and also building 60,000 affordable homes, dealing with the housing crisis that the SNP has left far too long to address.

DM: Yes, we hear that but as I say the polling, which you mustn’t be immune to, saying that Labour may end up with just 25 seats, the Conservatives could be on as many as 20 and in terms of share of the votes it could be even closer.  

KEZIA DUGDALE:  The point of elections, Dermot, is to put forward a platform of policies and go to the electorate and make a positive case for those so I’m excited that for the first time we are going to have a Scottish parliament election based around tax and welfare powers.  We can choose now in Scotland either to manage austerity which the SNP and the Tories seem intent on doing or to make different choices and invest in our kids’ future, so Labour stands on a policy platform of three progressive taxes so we can have more money here in Scotland to invest in our kids’ future.  If I can give you one example, we are proposing a 50p tax rate for those folk who earn over £150,000 and we’ll use the money that that generates to close the gap between the richest and the poorest kids in our school ensuring that only when every young person can fulfil their potential can we grow a strong sustainable economy for the future.   That’s a different choice from both the SNP and the Tories and I think it’s one that people here in Scotland will really like in the weeks ahead.  

DM: And leadership of course, you have a different overall leader than you had during the general election, is the appeal of Jeremy Corbyn resonating on the doorstep?

KEZIA DUGDALE:  Jeremy has been in Scotland several times since he and I both took over as leader and we’ve been campaigning on issues that matter.  It’s an absolute delight to work with Jeremy when he’s here and I look forward to seeing him later this week but first and foremost, what people want in Scotland is politicians who represent and stand up for the big issues in their own lives, whether that be equality of schools, whether that be housing or whether that’s going to be addressing some of the big issues we face around our NHS.  So we have a very exciting election ahead in Scotland and I look forward to making the most of it.  There is a very clear choice to make and you can either accept the austerity of the Tories or you can make a different choice by voting Scottish Labour.  

DM: But the point about Jeremy Corbyn, he is thought to be leading the party to the left of the SNP, was that the problem with the old Labour party?  

KEZIA DUGDALE: That it was too left wing?  What happened in Scotland was …

DM: Too right wing.  

KEZIA DUGDALE:  Pardon?  I can’t hear you.

DM: Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to the left, is he winning any voters back from the SNP?  

KEZIA DUGDALE:  I believe that yes, he is and together with Jeremy I am looking forward to bringing more people home to the Labour party in Scotland because we have a progressive platform of policies.  We are talking about the issues which affect everybody’s daily lives from schooling, to housing, to the health service.  That’s a very positive, a very progressive platform of policies and that’s why I think this will be the most exciting Scottish parliament election we’ve had yet.  There’s a real choice for people to make, they can either accept the Tory austerity that both the SNP and the Tories stand for or we can make different choices and I’m very clear that a Labour party led by me with the support of Jeremy here in Scotland will make those different choices and I see a bright future for our party in that regard.

DM: And does the metropolitan nature of a lot of the Labour leadership, the north London mafia, does that appeal?  

KEZIA DUGDALE:  Listen Dermot, I’m not sure what part of this you’re not getting.  I am the leader of the Scottish Labour party and I exist to represent the interests of the people here in Scotland and I’m building a manifesto with that in mind so when I knock doors and hear about problems in our schools, when I hear about problems in our NHS, things that Nicola Sturgeon has failed to act on in the past eight years, then I’m coming up with policies to address those using the progressive powers of the parliament and that’s the platform and the policies that people will vote on in May.  

DM: Okay Kezia Dugdale, thank you very much indeed, the leader of Scottish Labour.