Good evening Glasgow! I’m so happy to be back in the heart of Scotland once again, and I can see that the feeling is mutual. I can notice the energy behind our campaign and think Clydeside will once again return a Labour MP to Westminster, one who will work for everyone in Scotland, one who will fight for our democracy, and one who will stand up for what truly matters. As part of my promise since early last year, devolution is finally in the horizon! This will of course mean devolving more powers to Scotland, be that the minimum wage, corporation tax or welfare payments.

Welfare devolution is a particular issue, one that has long been controversial in Scottish politics, but one that I have stood strong on since the beginning. We’ve had a referendum and the overwhelming mandate of the people was ignored, with the Conservatives dithering, delaying and outright refusing to even start the process of devolving welfare. Now that the Scottish Conservatives have been kicked out of power, we are getting a second referendum on welfare devolution, one where Labour will campaign for this devolution. Be it clear, no matter the outcome of this election, I will see the welfare devolution referendum bill delivered to the parliament in the next term.

Labour strongly believes that spreading wealth, power and responsibilities across Britain is a process that benefits us all and makes Britain a better place to live than it is today. Devolving powers to bodies that are closer to the people means we can implement policies that work better for people than the one size fits all solutions that Westminster implements too often. Devolving welfare allows us to increase payments and make applications fairer to ensure the system works for Scots.

But there is not only the argument about having a more focused policy. There’s a more fundamental, ideological argument in this discussion about who should have more say over policy. Should we dare to allow more democracy in Britain, or have Westminster hold on to power out of fear of the people at large? Is the union one of Westminster domination, or one of equals working together to build a system that works for all?

Labour is clear on this. We believe that the union can only continue to exist if it is one where we respect each other, effectively cooperate and allow devolution where it’s possible. It’s a union where we come to agreements, invest in a better future and give Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish people a fair deal. The question over the existence of our union should be a fundamental one, not one based on a discussion of whether Westminster has failed Scotland or not. And as Westminster has failed Scotland, we have to work to undo the damage no matter what future Scotland chooses. Thank you.