Jeremy Corbyn: Scotland ‘holds the keys’ to UK Labour government

Jeremy Corbyn: Picture credit - Gareth Fuller/PA Wire/PA Images

Scotland 'holds the keys' to Labour returning to government at Westminster, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The Labour leader, who is due to campaign north of the border today, said his party would need to more than treble the number of seats they hold in Scotland, from their current seven to 25, to win power at the next election.

Corbyn said a swing of just one per cent in some seats in the party's former Glasgow, Lanarkshire and Fife heartlands was needed to form a UK-wide government.

A surge in SNP support saw Labour’s seat haul drop from 41 to just one in 2015, while the SNP swept up 56 out of 59 seats.

But June’s general election saw Nicola Sturgeon’s party fall to 35 seats, as the unionist parties all made gains.

"Scotland holds the keys to a delivering a Labour government for the whole United Kingdom,” Corbyn said ahead of his visit.

"We have stayed on an election footing all summer, and nowhere is more important to delivering another Labour government than Scotland.

"Labour has the policies to build a fairer Scotland for the many not the few, with a £10-an-hour minimum wage, a ban on zero hour contracts, a jobs first Brexit deal, and taxing big corporations and highest paid five per cent a bit more to fund our schools, hospitals, emergency services and social care."

"The only way to deliver the truly radical change that Scotland needs is to back Labour in Scotland.”

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale said: “Scotland will be crucial at the next General Election, whenever it comes.

"Labour has a message that resonates with people across Scotland and that saw seats won and majorities slashed across Scotland.

"Next time around we are ready to win those seats – and help deliver a government that works for the many, not the few.

"After years of false promises from the SNP people in Scotland see what a truly radical agenda looks like. Only Labour can and will deliver the change Scotland needs".