Richard Leonard: 'I intend to be next first minister'
- Published
Richard Leonard told the conference that he "fully intends" to be the next first minister of Scotland
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard "fully intends" to be Scotland's next first minister, he has told the party's UK conference in Liverpool.
Mr Leonard used his speech to place Labour firmly in opposition to a second referendum on Scottish independence.
He instead called for a federal Britain with extra powers for the Scottish Parliament as a "radical solution".
The MSP also called for "moral courage and audacity" in addressing inequality, advocating a wealth tax on the richest.
Labour delegates from across the UK have gathered in Liverpool for the party's conference, with leader Jeremy Corbyn due to speak on Wednesday.
Mr Leonard confirmed over the weekend that the party would commit to opposing a second independence referendum in its next UK manifesto, in the belief that this would give Mr Corbyn a mandate to refuse permission for such a vote to be held were he elected prime minister.
The Scottish Labour leader - giving his first speech in this capacity to the UK conference - also used his address to look forward to the next Scottish election, pitching himself as a future first minister.
Mr Leonard told delegates that he had frequently been asked by journalists whether "somebody born in England can be the next first minister".
He said: "Well, for the sake of all of those people, in all of those communities who need Labour governments, I fully intend to be the next first minister of Scotland."
Labour is holding its annual conference in Liverpool
He continued: "The forces that threaten the life chances of children growing up by the Mersey, are the same ones that threaten the life chances of children growing up by the Clyde.
"So we should stop dividing people on the basis of nationality and start uniting them on the basis of class.
"The real division in our society is not between Scotland and England, it is between those people who own the wealth and those people who through their hard work and endeavour create the wealth. That is the real division."
'More planning, less market'
Mr Leonard also called for a wealth tax, land reform and rights for workers to buy enterprises which face closure, saying the economy needed "more planning and less market".
He said: "In Scotland today the richest 1% own more personal wealth than the whole of the poorest 50% put together.
"So instead of a fervent devotion to inequality from the Tories, and timidity and mediocrity from the Nationalists, it is time for moral courage and audacity from Labour. Which is why I have said that the time has come to consider a wealth tax.
"A one per cent windfall tax on Scotland's wealthiest 10% would raise £3.7bn to invest in public services."