IT’S Scottish Labour conference time in Glasgow and as always that means some self-reflection as a party is required.

With Labour looking likely to form the next British government, it is perhaps more important than ever we really pay attention to what is said and decided here over the next few days and, most importantly, take part democratically in the debates and the decisions ourselves as members and trade unionists.

It does feel as if there is a different atmosphere around conference this year. I accept that over most of the last decade there have been few occasions apart from 2017 where you could genuinely say Scottish Labour felt like it was experiencing a resurgence, but there is definitely a renewed sense of opportunity pervading the conference hall this year with council by-election victories under our belt and promising polling providing the wind in our sails.

It’s clear that the challenge for Labour in Scotland is very different from any national or regional Labour Party anywhere else in Britain and in response to that reality we have to take a different approach to friends in other parts of this island.

In terms of Westminster seats we sit well behind a well-established governing party that on a number of issues reflects core Labour principles and as a result has taken on a vote that was once very solidly Labour.

In Wales Plaid Cymru do not present the same danger, in England the Liberal Democrats are not much of a threat to Labour any more as they have shifted increasingly to the right and the disappearance of Ukip as a powerful electoral force has meant it really is a clear choice between Labour and the Tories in most seats outside of very particular areas.

Yet here in Scotland across many seats it is a very distinct two or three-horse race and it will require decisively significant swings to turn those seats red. Even a good night would not be enough in many constituencies — we need an exceptional night.

That is why it is so important for Scottish Labour to set out its stall and recover not only the votes of those who have moved to the SNP but also to recover their attention over a longer term and regain a sense that we are representing them at a local, national, and British level. To my mind that is the only path to victory, going after Tory votes as we have regrettably focused on in the past simply will not do.

Thankfully we are making great progress in this area and I think people see issues like the council tax freeze proposed by Humza Yousaf as not representing realistic and progressive government.

Equally the constant infighting within the SNP led by a right-wing faction around Tartan Tory Fergus Ewing and the very socially conservative Kate Forbes is doing them no favours. What the public see is a party clinging on for a percentage point or two to keep their heads above water. That is not transformative, it is completely conservative and only drags Scotland into a race to the bottom.

Clearly Scottish Labour needs to distinguish itself on policy and principle and that is what we intend to do at this conference. We will be pushing for genuine socialist policies like protecting hard-working families from the worst excesses of public service debt recovery; properly investing in our NHS and being realistic about the cuts to local budgets that councils seem to universally be standing against; and establishing GB Energy here in Scotland to drive energy production forward in public hands.  

That is why I am also delighted as a party we plan to pass a motion this weekend calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. It needs to be clear to the public and in particular those communities deeply affected by this unimaginable horror that Scottish Labour will not stand for it. Thankfully Scottish Labour came out against Israel’s aggression early on, but it is vitally important we formally declare our disgust and push for peace in such a vital region for everyone across the world.

I have been very public in my concern that Labour was generally too slow to call out what is clearly a serious and worrying escalation of hostilities with each passing week. History will not judge our party kindly if it seems we have equivocated on what is quite blatantly immoral.

It is my hope that conference will provide a platform for us to secure and campaign for clear red water between ourselves and the SNP heading into a general election. Achieving that has to be a top priority if we are to regain seats and send strong democratic socialist representation from Scotland down to Westminster.

Appearing to be a party that is happy with the status quo and satisfied with being “the party of the union” is not going to cut it in 2024. Labour became the party of Scotland for so many decades precisely because it had ambitious and radical ideas about what Scotland and the UK could be on the national and international stage.

The blueprint is there. We only have to rediscover our roots.

Carol Mochan is Labour MSP for the South Scotland region.