Macintosh in plea for live TV debate

SCOTTISH Labour leadership candidate Ken Macintosh has challenged his rival for the position to a live, head-to-head televised debated.

The Eastwood MSP said this would give party members a proper insight into their policy differences.

He says he wants to quiz rival Kezia Dugdale directly because he believes it is the best way to expose the significant differences in their plans for the party and their style of leadership. His team has already approached STV and BBC Scotland to ask if they would be prepared to stage a live debate.

The challenge was published in a blog posted on Mr Macintosh’s campaign website in which he claims to be the only candidate championing the kind of change necessary to revive Labour’s fortunes in Scotland.

He says he proposes a distinctly Scottish anti-austerity agenda to deliver the kind of investment necessary to drive forward the Scottish economy; an end to the centrally imposed freeze on council tax ; and a redefining of the relationship between Scottish Labour and trade unions.