Bring on another election, Dugdale says as she challenges SNP to help topple PM

Kezia Dugdale has said her party is ready for another snap election, saying she would “relish” the contest and claiming Labour could make significant gains.

The Scottish Labour leader challenged the SNP to back planned amendments to the Queen’s Speech in an attempt to bring down Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.

“We’ve had five electoral contests in Scotland in the last two-and-a-half years – why not have a sixth if it means getting the Tories out of office?” Ms Dugdale said.

“We are still very much on an election footing and that’s a contest we would relish.”

The Scottish Labour leader said the party’s six gains and one hold in Scotland had led MPS from across the UK to brand the group, led by new shadow Scottish Secretary Lesley Laird, “the Magnificent Seven”. 0 Kezia Dugdale said Labour is ‘still on an election footing’

Labour finished second in 21 seats across Scotland. Ms Dugdale said: “If you look at Motherwell and Wishaw, Airdrie and Shotts, and Glasgow East, we were just 600 votes off having a group of ten [MPS] here.

“So we are very much alive to the fact that the difference between Labour having a majority and taking power or not is making more progress in Scotland, and that’s something both Jeremy Corbyn and I are committed to doing.”

Setting out her demands ahead of the Queen’s Speech, Ms Dugdale called on the Prime Minister to reverse cuts to social security and Scotland’s revenue budget worth £2 billion over the next four years.

She also demanded additional financial support for women hit by the increasing retirement age, more help for the North Sea oil and gas industry, and the cancellation of VAT payments levied on Scotland’s national police and fire services.

Following reports of crossparty plans to support the amendments, which could see the government brought down if the Conservative fail to get their programme for government through the House of Commons.

“I expect them to back our plans to end austerity, because they constantly tell us they’re an anti-austerity party. There’s no negotiation required for that … They either back that or walk away and let the Tories continue to be in power.”