Dugdale: broken politics needs a major overhaul
THE independence and Brexit referendums represented a failure of politics and a federal system of government is needed to fix the damage, Kezia Dugdale has said.
The Scottish Labour leader argued for a new constitutional settlement that would give more power to the Scottish Parliament but also keep the UK together.
She said support for independence and Brexit stemmed from the same source, a broken political system.
Ms Dugdale advocated setting up a People’s Constitutional Convention to investigate federalism in the UK and a new Act of Union for the four UK nations.
The policy will be debated at the Scottish Labour conference later this month when the party meets in Perth.
Speaking at University College London she said her position reflected the wishes of most Scots who she said want to stay in the UK but making both Scotland and the union stronger.
She said: “Brexit represented a failure of our politics.
“People willing to take a leap in the dark and vote for independence represented a failure of our politics.”
Ms Dugdale warned the les- sons of both referendums have still not been learned.
She added: “And in the face of it, governing parties haven’t just ignored the problem. They’ve doubled down on the disastrous policies that got us here in the first place.
“And now, even after all that we’ve gone through; we’re making the same mistakes again.”
The leader said the votes were evidence that radical change is required.
She added:“How could we pos- sibly go through the past decade, and face the next decade, and believe that the way we govern ourselves doesn’t need to change?”
At the conference Labour members will debate the motion which states: “It has become clear that our country is not working for working people.
“Too many feel disenfranchised, disempowered and left behind.
“The gulf between the Government and the governed cannot be allowed to grow further.”
If approved it will call on the UK Labour Party to convene a People’s Constitutional Convention, made up of people from across the UK, to report before the next UK General Election.
Ms Dugdale added: “The vast majority of people in Scotland want what the Labour Party wants – a strong Scotland, with a strong Scottish Parliament, inside the United Kingdom.”
She said that was even more true now after Brexit.