Category: Scottish National party (SNP)

Butler says we need to be honest about what Britain did wrong in the past.

When people ask why people can’t get over this, they don’t realise how offensive that is.

Turning to the Windrush scandal, she refers to the case of Hubert Howard, a Windrush victim who died recently without having had compensation or an apology. Butler says the system that created that injustice is still in place.

Butler is now talking about the value of diversity.

She says Norman Tebbit used to talk about the cricket test as a way of evaluating if people were loyal to the country. But this year England won the cricket world cup with a team that included a West Indian, a Pakistani, a South African, an New Zealander and an Irishman.

She says Labour will establish an independent review into the rise of the far right.

And it will ensure more black history is taught in schools. Because black history is British history, says says.

She says, within a month of taking power, Labour would launch a review into the shortage of BAME teachers in schools.

Jeremy Corbyn says he is just the warm-up act for Dawn Butler, the shadow minister for women and equalities.

Butler takes to the stage. She says there are people trying to divide the country. She says a video has gone viral of a man and his children receiving antisemitic abuse on a train. It is unsettling to watch, she says. She says some of the people on the train did not intervene. But it was a woman in a hijab who intervened, she says. She says the woman said she knew what it was like to be abused like this.

Butler says all forms of racism are wrong.

She says after Boris Johnson compared Muslim women to letterboxes the number of incidents of Islamophobia went up by 375%.

Corbyn says running through the Labour manifesto is the “golden thread” of a society that works for all and respects all.

He is very proud to lead a party of diversity. And he would be proud to speak on the world stage on behalf of a country proud of its diversity, he says.

His manifesto can change lives for millions of people, he says.

Corbyn says sometimes when people are challenged they are asked if they are “tolerant” of others. He does not like the word, he says. He prefers the idea of being respectful, he says.

He says abuse has no place in our society. Attacks on people, and attacks on churches or synagogues or mosques, are attacks on all of us, he says. He says Labour would ensure there was full protection for places of worship. And attacks on places of worship would count as aggravated crimes, he says.

He says:

Antisemitism in any form is vile and wrong. It is an evil in our society … It grew in Europe … and ultimately led to the Holocaust … Under a Labour government it will not be tolerated in any form whatsoever.

He says Labour has a rapid process for dealing with these complaints. That process is constantly being reviewed. And Labour supports educating people about the problem, he says.

Corbyn says he wants to work with people of all faiths and none. It has always been his pride and his pleasure to do this, he says. In government, his door will be open to all faith leaders, he says.

He says the chief rabbi will be very welcome, as will be the archbishop of Canterbury, and leaders from other faiths.

Corbyn says he thinks history may be the most important thing children learn at school.

Labour would promote the emancipation education trust, to ensure that children learn more about slavery. It should not just be taught during black history month. It should be taught all year round, he says.

Corbyn says there is not proper BAME representations at the top of public life. There are only 25 black female professors in British universities. He says a Labour government would carry out a review to ensure BAME people are properly represented at the top of the education system.

Corbyn says Labour wants to push ahead with anonymised job applications, so people do not face discrimination because of their name.

Corbyn says the Tory manifesto does not mention race and equality issues. Labour is the party of equality and human rights, he says.

He says he wants to lead a government where this is central to everything it does. He says people have until tonight to register to vote. He urges people to register.

And he says Labour will not pursue the voter ID plans in the Tory manifesto. These would suppress voting, he says.

Jeremy Corbyn is now speaking at the Labour race and faith manifesto launch. He starts by thanking Alf Dubs for what he said, and for all his campaigning on behalf of immigrants.

He is speaking at the Bernie Grant arts centre in Tottenham. Corbyn says he knew Grant very well, and is proud to be speaking at an arts centre named after him. He says Grant taught people a lot about the impact of Britain’s colonial past.

He says N15, the postcode area where he is speaking, is the most diverse in Britain. He says 150 languages are spoken here.

Lord Dubs is speaking now at the Labour event.

He says he is “bitterly disappointed” at what the chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis, said about Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism. He does not accept a lot of what Mirvis said, although Dubs says he thinks Labour should have addressed the problem more quickly. But the chief rabbi’s comments were “unjustified and unfair”, he says.

Q: Why won’t you take part in the Channel 4 News debate on the environment on Thursday?

Johnson says he is taking part in other debates. He says as mayor of London he showed how emissions could be cut without the economy being harmed. But Labour would take a sledgehammer to the economy, he says.

And that’s it. The event is over.

Q: Do you think Nicola Sturgeon should consider the chief rabbi’s comments before propping up a Labour government?

Johnson says Corbyn has not been able to stamp out antisemitism in his party. That is part of a wider failure of leadership, he says. He says you cannot be PM and refuse to take a position on Brexit. He says you cannot be neutral on that any more than you can be neutral on antisemitism.

Q: If you are the largest party after the election, but don’t have a majority, will you rule out holding a second referendum on independence or on Brexit.

Johnson says he normally does not answer hypothetical questions like that. But he will answer this. Yes, he says. He says he genuinely thinks they would be bad for the country.

Q: Polling shows your personal popularity in Scotland is only slightly better than Jeremy Corbyn’s. You’re on minus 34.

Johnson interrupts. Minus 34 – we can build on that, he says, to audience laughter.

Q: Would you have any more city deals for Scotland?

Johnson says he will have a sectoral deal for the oil industry. And he will put £3.1bn more into Scotland as a result of his manifesto plans, as a result of the Barnett formula.

On city deals, Johnson says the whole of Scotland is covered.