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Former deputy prime minister John Prescott warned the Scottish Labour Conference that party activists must fight to regain "Labour" seats in the forthcoming UK election.
John Prescott arrived at the conference in his battle bus
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Riding into Glasgow on his personal battle bus - dubbed "The Prescott Express", the MP said Labour could win another term in office by focusing on a fair society. He said of recent by-election defeats to the Tories and SNP: "I was in Crewe the other week, - we're going to win that back, it's a Labour seat. We let it go and we shouldn't because we didn't fight hard enough." Mr Prescott added: "And that's the same as I want that fight in Glasgow East, getting those seats back for Labour because they belong to us and we've got to convince the electorate a bit more."
Chancellor Alistair Darling urged banks to show more restraint during the financial crisis, as he accused some bankers of failing to grasp the reality of the current economic situation. He said mistakes had been made by a "a very few people" at the top of the banking sector which had "catastrophic consequences", including a massive banking bailout by the UK government. "I think some bankers just fail to understand that they live in the same world as the rest of us," said the chancellor. "Most people understand that, at a time when other people are pulling in their belts and finding times are tough, they ought to show some restraint."
Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy said the Tories would cut public spending within 50 days if they won the general election. And he claimed the policy would put the country at risk of going back into recession. "Scotland can't afford a double dip recession," he said, adding: "We can't afford the risk of kamikaze Cameron and his co-pilot Osborne."
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