Labour: Jim Murphy, Neil Findlay and Sarah Boyack on Scotland Tonight The three contenders for the Scottish Labour leadership have set out their stalls in a special STV programme. Jim Murphy, Neil Findlay, and Sarah Boyack answered questions on policy, electoral strategy, and the fall-out from the referendum. The Tuesday night Scotland Tonight programme, presented by John MacKay, saw key themes of social justice and making devolution work repeated by all three candidates. The programme came just two days before the report of the cross-party Smith Commission on devolution was due to be published. One of the key points of contention is whether 100% of income tax should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament or whether some control of the levy should remain at the UK Parliament. Mr Murphy, MP for East Renfrewshire, confirmed on Tuesday that he supported full devolution. The former Secretary of State for Scotland had previously been either sceptical or non-committal but said the opportunity to secure the Barnett Formula had led him to change his mind. He told the programme: "I think what's changed is the guarantee around the Barnett Formula. The worry that I had and the worry that many people in the Labour Party have is that if you have full devolution of income tax without retention of the Barnett Formula, Scotland could be worse off. Now on the basis that it appears the Barnett Formula is going to remain on the table, I think that's the right balance: Protection of the Barnett Formula and further power taken here in Scotland. But you also have the social protection of a UK state pension, you also have the support of money raised by a UK levy on bankers' bonuses. So there'll still be that financial support flowing across the United Kingdom. But as long as you can guarantee Barnett, I'm comfortable with devolution. The formula, devised by the late Lord Barnett in 1978, determines the allocation of spending for Scotland and is indexed to changes in UK-level public expenditure. The system currently sees Scots receive £1364 per head more than people in the UK as a whole but critics argue the formula actually sees Scotland given less back than it contributes to the Treasury every year. Sarah Boyack expressed reservations about fully devolving control over income tax, pointing out that Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling, and a number of economists shared her concerns. The Lothian MSP and former Scottish Executive environment minister said: "For me, income tax is a hugely important tax but when times are bad, you've got less people in work or, like now, you've got people who are self-employed earning less, the takings go down. This tax is going to be crucial in funding our schools, our hospitals, big public services in Scotland. So we need to make sure that we're still going to get the pooling and sharing of other taxes across the UK and that that's guaranteed from the Smith Commission. Fellow Lothian MSP Neil Findlay said he wanted to wait until the Smith Commission reported before setting out his stance on income tax devolution. However, he indicated that he could be convinced to support such a move if the retention of the Barnett Formula was guaranteed. The other question that dominated the proceedings involved what former US President George H W Bush famously, and awkwardly, termed "the vision thing." Scottish Labour has been accused by its opponents, as well as by non-aligned and even sympathetic commentators, of lacking a compelling narrative with which to appeal to voters. Ms Boyack, who as transport minister introduced free bus passes for over-60s, placed an emphasis on articulating Labour values that could connect both with former Labour voters and those who have never voted for the party. She said: "I think it's partly about ensuring that our values of social justice, environmental justice, and economic justice mean something to people. I think we've got to be relevant to people's lives and the real pressures that are on families at the moment. If you look at the rocketing cost of rents, up 40% in the last four years, the lack of social housing, the care crisis. We need to get back to first principles and make sure we've got public services that support people and I think that'll be popular with people. The one I've suggested that brings all three together is a massive energy programme, a national infrastructure project funded with support so that, whether you live on an island, whether you live in a city, you'll be able to heat your house. It'll create jobs and apprenticeships, it'll tackle our climate change problems, but crucially it'll take a huge pressure off hard-pressed families, a third of whom cannot afford to pay their bills for gas or electricity. That's a scandal and that's a practical thing that Labour could bring forward that would transform their lives. Reflecting his ideological position on the right of the Labour Party, Mr Murphy warned that his party could not make progress without appealing beyond the core Labour vote. He said: "I know it's a dangerous thing to say trying to win a Labour contest but I don't think we can just talk to Labour voters. There aren't enough of them. I'm not in favour of tribal voting. In every election you've got to appeal a fresh to a group of voters but my approach would be a sense of patriotism, a sense of pride in our party and in our country. A different tone in our politics where we don't always shout at the SNP but we talk and listen to Scotland. For me, it's a genuine sense that politics can make a difference. Which policy would that be? If you go to work, you're always better off than you would be on benefit. That's not about taking benefit away from people but it's about ensuring you have an arrangement of tax credits, minimum wage, living wage, and support that ensures that people who get up in the morning, go to work, provide for their family will always be better off than they would be on benefit. But to enable that to happen, you've got to have a growing economy because unless the economy grows, there's less availability of finance to share around and alleviate hardship. So the first anti-poverty initiative I would have is a growing economy. Mr Findlay, who has remained consistent in his commitment to socialism in a party that has tacked centre in recent decades, set out a left-of-centre vision of social justice and restoring the voters' faith in Labour and its values. He told John MacKay: "I did 63 meetings during the referendum and the two themes that came over during that period were the theme of the social justice agenda and the second theme was disappointment with Labour. Because they think that we have gone away from what we believe in and what we have always stood for and that was representing the interests of working people. So I think we need to put an anti-poverty strategy at the centre of every single thing we do. Central to that is the eradication of youth unemployment to give young people hope and a belief that Labour has answers to their problems. Also, I want to see us building 50,000 social houses, council and housing association houses, to put a roof over people's heads. And when people are in work we have to give them security in work and some dignity in work and I want to see the living wage replace the national minimum wage and end that zero-hours culture that we have at the moment. That eats away at people, it eats away at families and their relationships, and eats away at their dignity. The candidates also touched on Trident renewal, a policy that divides many in Labour. Mr Findlay and Ms Boyack reiterated their opposition to the nuclear deterrent, which they articulated in moral and economic terms. Mr Murphy said he wanted to see worldwide nuclear disarmament but said it was unwise for the UK to surrender its nuclear deterrent unilaterally, particularly given North Korea's declared nuclear arsenal and Iran's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. He added: "The thing is, this is a decision for the next 60 years. So if you know the exact future of the world in the next 60 years, then unilaterally give up our nuclear deterrent. If you can't see into the future like that, let's use it as a way of negotiating a world free of nuclear weapons, not just a UK free of nuclear weapons. The trio debated the merits of the Better Together coalition, which saw Labour politicians forge common cause with their Conservative opponents on the issue of independence. Mr Murphy and Ms Boyack defended the move; however, Mr Findlay said he had opposed the creation of Better Together from the start. He elaborated: "I think it was a tactical mistake and I always did think it was a tactical mistake, and said so. I did 63 meetings, as I said, community meetings, trade union meetings, different charity organisations -- some of them very fiery meetings, I can assure you. And the easiest barb we gave the opposition was 'we were in bed with the Tories'. Now, that did not reflect the reality on the other side of the debate where we had, for example, Trotskyists and venture capitalists sharing the same platform; where we had climate change deniers and the Green Party sharing the same platform. So there were strange alliances on both sides. The ballot for the next leader of Scottish Labour opened on November 17 and the winner will be announced on December 13. The position became vacant following the resignation of Johann Lamont, who accused the UK leadership of the party and MPs in Westminster of treating Scottish Labour like a "branch office" of the national party.