Harmony call from Labour's Harman

Harriet Harman said devolution was a great Labour achievement

Ministers at Westminster are to seek a high profile in Scotland as part of a Labour drive to strengthen party ties across the UK, it has been disclosed.

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman said the plan was part of a "new settlement" involving Labour in Scotland, England and Wales.

She told delegates at Scottish Labour's spring conference that the party needed to work better together.

Ms Harman's speech was also highly critical of the ruling SNP.

She said: "Before Labour devolved power to Scotland, the truth is that then we worked more closely together than we do now.

"Devolution is one of the great achievements of Labour in government, but it means we have to work harder to make sure that we continue to work together."

Ms Harman told the conference in Aviemore that she was "determined" to strengthen party links across the UK.

She explained: "We have to look to new ways to work together on a UK basis.

"Over the coming months you'll see more UK ministers in Scotland listening to and working with the Scottish people - like work and pensions secretary James Purnell, business secretary John Hutton and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith."

Nanny state

On the SNP she said it was not Alex Salmond's party which put tackling global poverty at the top of the international agenda, but Labour.

Ms Harman said: "Without a Labour government we would never have had a department of international development, let alone a doubling of the aid budget."

She added that a commission set up by Prime Minister Gordon Brown would offer new entitlements to people in work looking after elderly relatives when it reports this summer.

"We weren't afraid of being called the nanny state - and we certainly won't be afraid of being called the granny state."

She told the conference: "Just as we are backing up families with children, we will do more to back up families who are caring for older relatives.

"When our Carers Commission reports this summer we will offer new entitlements to Britain's six million family carers."

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