SCOTTISH Labour leader Kezia Dugdale says the SNP is starting to make the same mistakes Labour did at the height of its dominance north of the border.
Speaking ahead of her first Scottish Labour conference as leader next weekend, Miss Dugdale claimed there was a “degree of complacency” and “sense of entitlement to power” creeping into the SNP after eight years in charge of the country.
Miss Dugdale said she was determined to learn these lessons from her own party’s dramatic fall from power and has also backed controversial demands to hand the Scottish Parliament the powers to call any future independence referendum.
The SNP has long called for the power over future referendums to be devolved to Holyrood and Miss Dugdale said: “It would make a lot of sense. I don’t think you can argue against it in the Scottish interests.”
However, the Lothians MSP said she felt it was time to move on from the “deeply divisive” issue of constitutional naval gazing and “devote all of our time and energy on reforming public services”.
Reflecting on her first two months in the job, Miss Dugdale said: “My challenge is not just to just identify a problem but also offer a solution.
“The thing about Scottish politics is we seem to live from one election cycle to another.
“The price of that is that we don’t get to grips with the big challenges Scotland faces, whether that be inequality in our schools or the fact we have an increasingly ageing population that needs to change.”
The SNP has set a target of winning another majority in next May’s election and the polls to date show this is likely.
However, Miss Dugdale warned: “I think the SNP are starting to make the same mistakes the Labour Party used to.
“There’s a degree of complacency, a bit of arrogance, a sense of entitlement to power all of the things which got Labour into a whole heap of trouble.
“The thing that really frustrates me is the opportunity to transform this country that Sturgeon is just wasting away.”
Last month, Miss Dugdale ruffled the feathers of her party by saying Labour MSPs and MPs will be free to campaign for Scottish independence if there is another referendum.
The move was deliberate on her part as she explained: “If you don’t separate party politics from the constitution then every election we have in Scotland from now on will be defined on whether you are Yes or No, rather than if you are red, blue, yellow, green or any other colour.
“I actually don’t think the people of Scotland want that.
“This is in a way the hangover of the referendum we spent two-and-a -half years debating one question.
“I’m comfortable with the idea that people in the Labour Party voted Yes.
“I should be open about that if I want the future of politics in our country not to be defined by how you voted on one day in 2014.
“That doesn’t mean I’ve changed my own belief.
“I proudly campaigned for No and I would do it again if it was tomorrow.”
Miss Dugdale said the party wanted to win over “pragmatic nationalists” people she says who “looked at all the options and believed that voting Yes at that time was the only way to change”.
She continued: “I have an affinity with that group as I am restless about the state of the country, about the poverty of the country I see every day, but believe there is another way.”
Last year’s crunch vote on separation was held by the Scottish Government but only after nearly a year of negotiations with Westminster, which holds the legal controls over the constitution.
Asked if the Scottish Parliament should have the power over when to call another referendum on independence, she said: “It’s hard to see how you could argue against that.”
She added: “I was surprised that Nicola Sturgeon did not call for that in her conference because it would make a lot of sense. I don’t think you can argue against it in the Scottish interests.
“But before you get to that you have to remember we were all told this was a once-in-a-lifetime event.
“The result should be respected.”
The Scottish Labour conference in Perth next week is likely to see a members-led debate on the issue of renewing Trident.
The party is divided on the topic but Miss Dugdale said she is “relaxed about this”.
She added: “I won’t speak on Trident. I’m going to talk about next year’s election, our ambitions for the health service and closing the gap between the richest and the poorest.”
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