Scottish Labour conference: Kezia Dugdale 'proud' to be part of UK party

Scotland's Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said she was "proud" to be in the UK party but she wanted a more autonomous structure north of the border.

The MSP said she believed the party she has led since August needed to "determine its own fortunes".

Ms Dugdale also said she wanted to see the 30,000 Labour membership in Scotland growing.

The comments were made in a BBC webcast ahead of Scottish Labour's autumn conference in Perth.

During the half-hour interview with BBC Scotland's political editor Brian Taylor, Ms Dugdale insisted her bid for more autonomy did not mean endorsement of an independent Scottish Labour Party.

She explained: "I am making the case for a more autonomous party within the UK Labour movement.

"I think allowing the Scottish Labour Party to determine its own fortunes, to sort out its own policies, to do its own selection, to organise its own constituency Labour parties is essential.

"It is a very strong message that we got from the electorate in May that too many people, fair or otherwise, thought the Labour Party was run in London by Westminster.

"This is a very radical change that I am putting forward.

"I am in charge in Scotland, I lead this party. The positions and the policy statements that we come out with are made here and by the team around me. So I think that is a very big step forward and a very, very good thing."

Sharing resources

Ms Dugdale has signed an agreement with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn that plans would be made to allow Scottish Labour greater autonomy.

She said the Scottish party would continue to benefit from money "coming from London" but she also wanted to see more money raised "in the Scottish Labour Party for the Scottish Labour Party".

Ms Dugdale stressed: "I am not talking about an independent Scottish Labour Party. I am proud to be part of that Labour movement and that wider Labour family and I would like to be able to share resources based on need across the UK."

The politician answered a range of questions which came from BBC website users. They included:

• Scottish Steel industry losses - Ms Dugdale said the UK government was not doing enough and more needed to be done to protect the assets, invest in the skills and "diversify products".

• Devolution of abortion - Ms Dugdale believed by devolving the issue the debate on women's rights was unjustly opened. "I am concerned about questioning the right to choose," she added. The politician reiterated that she was not in favour of devolving the power.

• Bus passes for the over 60s - Ms Dugdale said that "yes" Scottish Labour would keep free bus passes. She added that she did not want to re-open the debate on means-testing.

• Income tax rises - Ms Dugdale indicated that there would be no tax rises under a Scottish Labour administration, but she added that she had plans to use new tax and welfare powers coming to Holyrood to make a difference. Ms Dugdale said she would explain more in her conference speech on Saturday afternoon.

• Named person scheme -Ms Dugdale said she supported the "controversial" proposal which appeared in the Scottish government's Children and Young Persons Bill. She believed there had been a lot of misinformation around what the named person might do.