LATEST NEWS FROM SCOTTISH LABOUR

Scottish Labour’s Education spokesman Des McNulty today responded to Conservative proposals to create Trust Schools in Scotland. Mr McNulty said: "Labour is open to new ideas about improving Scottish Education - we support innovation by teachers and giving head-teachers greater control over school budgets. There should be more diversity within the system and we will bring forward our ideas later in the year after we have had further discussions with key groups including the education profession and local authorities. "We differ from the Conservatives in our support for comprehensive education - schools should...

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KNIFE CRIME UP 3 PER CENT OVER 70 PER CENT OF KNIFE CRIMINALS DON’T GET PRISON SENTENCES New statistics published today show that if SNP justice Minister Kenny MacAskill’s plans to scrap six month sentences are passed then over 12,000 criminals will avoid jail. These include people guilty of serious assaults, robbery, indecent assault, housebreaking and knife crime. The SNP want to end six month sentences and replace them with community orders. According to today’s figures there has been a 34 per cent increase in convictions for lewd and indecent...

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The Scottish Conservative Party's new recruit has shown the true colours of the party by declaring that we need to be 'more selfish'. Labour says Tessa Hartmann's gaffe proves the Tories haven't changed. Anne McGuire, Labour MP for Stirling, said: "This 'me, myself and I' attitude is what people have come to expect from the Tories. "Selfishness is the last thing this country needs when we are collectively trying to recover from an economic downturn. "Ms Hartmann's gaffe goes to show that the Tories will stand up for the few and not the many. "David Cameron wants to...

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Business output rises but Scotland lags behind UK Labour's leader in the Scottish Parliament, Iain Gray criticised “the Salmond Slump” for holding back economic recovery in Scotland as the latest figures show a rise in business output last month but Scotland is still lagging behind the rest of the UK. Iain Gray MSP, said: “The lift in output and orders is good news but Scotland was still below the level of improvement for the UK. “The ‘Salmond Slump’ is holding us back at a crucial time. Labour has taken decisive action ever since the global banking crisis crunch in 2008...

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A decision by the European Court of Justice that minimum pricing for tobacco is illegal has confirmed fears that the SNP Government’s plans for minimum unit pricing for alcohol may not be legally competent. An Irish law setting minimum retail prices for cigarettes is illegal, judges have ruled. The European Court of Justice rejected Irish government claims that it needs to fix a high minimum price to discourage smoking. Shadow Health Secretary Jackie Baillie said: “This decision is a severe blow for the SNP’s plans to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol. The Scottish Government has repeatedly refused...

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Scottish Labour today hit out at the SNP’s handling of Scottish education after it was reported that the Scottish government legislation to enforce maximum class sizes of 25 will not be ready in time for the next school year. It has also emerged that many Primary 1 children in schools in SNP-controlled Edinburgh are likely to be in class sizes of 30 next year. This is the latest set-back for the SNP’s manifesto promise that all P1-3 children would be in class sizes of 18. That pledge had already been drastically scaled back by Education Minister...

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Scottish Labour has today responded to official figures which show the number of police officers, despite showing a slight rise across Scotland, have decreased or showed no change in half of Scotland's police forces over the last quarter. The figures come as it was revealed that police force's across Scotland will be forced to reduce civilian staff posts by voluntary and even compulsory redundancies over the next two years in order maintain police officer numbers. Recently Strathclyde Police said they had a £35 million shortfall in this year alone with budget shortfalls are expected to reaching...

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The SNP must strive harder to get better value for money for taxpayers, according to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Liam Byrne insists that the SNP government must cut the waste and become more efficient in order to improve frontline services. Speaking from Edinburgh, Mr Byrne said: "At a time when families up and down the country are having to tighten their belts, people rightly expect Alex Salmond to do more to cut waste and protect frontline services they rely on. "We will take the difficult decisions on spending. But the Labour Government will do this in a way...

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Labour has accused the SNP of making a mess of the new school curriculum as teachers call for a delay of up to a year. Lindsay Roy, Labour MP for Glenrothes and former headteacher, said: "Teachers are at the forefront of these changes and they need to be listened to. They would not call for a delay unless they felt that it was in the best interests of their pupils. "The SNP have made a mess of the Curriculum for Excellence by failing to provide schools with enough funding and guidance to fully introduce the new arrangements. "Teachers are...

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Scottish Labour has called on the SNP and other opposition parties to support its proposal to extend council tax exemptions to cover students who do degree courses that get them into university through college. Students doing so-called two-plus-two degrees, spending their first two years at college doing an HND and final two years at university, are finding themselves having to pay council tax in the period between which they leave college and matriculate for university. The degrees, often offered through a partnership between a local college and university, are seen as an innovative approach to efforts to widen access to...

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