Scottish Labour needs a new leader with the X factor - Barrie Cunning

As a member of the Scottish Labour Party and as someone who stood for the Party just over a decade ago, it’s fair to say that we are used to leadership contests and the promise of a renewed direction and strategy for electoral success.

Often this narrative is underpinned by and reinforces the core principles that many of us including myself joined the party for in the first place – solidarity, social justice, equality, opportunity, breaking barriers, eradicating poverty etc. It’s a strong message that goes down well with the membership, but if I’m honest, while I still passionately believe in these values and principles, I’m looking for something more than just reinforcing a reason why I joined a political party in the first place.

Politicians often say country first and party second. For me I’m a patriot and want what’s best for everyone in Scotland. I have established the Scotland 2050 conference that is non-partisan and is focused on how we tackle the big issues affecting Scotland and is entering its third year. I want to see real change for the people of Scotland and those who are looking to lead the Scottish Labour Party need to evidence that they have a strategy for the future.

Vague soundbites and a nod to a populist agenda that is steeped in ideology and classism will simply not cut it. If anything, it’s an out-of-date narrative that gets dusted down every time there is a change in leadership, and again, being honest and I know many people reading this will agree with me, it gets boring after a while.

The Scottish Labour Party needs a leader who has the political equivalent of the X factor. Someone who has a strong vision for what they want to achieve, someone who is in touch with the mood of the country, someone that people can relate to and someone who can also do the heavy policy lifting and be able to convey that to people. I don’t want to trash the record of the previous leadership as I believe Anas did a good job, but this contest is now all about the future of the party.

The reality is that if the Scottish Labour Party doesn’t get its act together the same thing will happen again as it did in May’s election. A downward trajectory, a smaller group at Holyrood, but this can be avoided if the next leader has a plan.

As I’ve said before, the people of Scotland like a fighter, and the party needs someone who will fight for the people of Scotland, and at that point, and almost certainly in the run up to the 2031 Scottish Parliament election, the people of Scotland will be looking for that person as they undertake their overall assessment of the SNP government which will have been in power for 24 years by that point.

The reality is that the next leader of the Scottish Labour Party needs to have a frank conversation not only with the members but with the country at large in terms of what they will do to tackle the issues facing Scotland today for a better tomorrow.

When we talk about the future, we are talking about the structural issues and challenges facing Scotland today – health, housing, education, economy, energy, cost of living to name but a few, but these are the issues that matter to the people of Scotland.

Just yesterday, we had the announcement by Ferguson Marine to cut up to a quarter of its workforce, a few weeks ago we had the announcement by BP that it was putting up for sale its North Sea operations which will potentially result in job loses as well as the impact on the supply side of things. It’s clear that Scotland needs a strategic industrial and investment plan with a focus on bolstering Scotland’s economy and it’s that kind of thinking that I want to see from the next leader of the Scottish Labour Party.

The ironic thing about Labour leadership elections is that candidates often talk about being bold or being radical, and don’t get me wrong I’m all for big picture thinking, but that big picture thinking has to go beyond bus ownership, it has to go beyond the question of whether the Scottish Labour Party should become independent of the UK Labour Party (which is nothing more than just white noise that gets reported in the press and is a short lived headline). It has to be about housing, it has to be about a plan for skills, attracting inward investment, increasing opportunity for everyone in Scotland with ambition at its heart it, but it also has to demonstrate sound economic competence that can be delivered and stand up to opposition scrutiny and one that the people of Scotland can understand and get behind.

I’m not looking for Michael or Joe to reinvent the wheel, but what I’m looking for is sound and robust cohesive policies on the economy, on the big issues that matter, a strategy that is engaging and one that everyone can get behind.

Barrie Cunning is the founder of the Scotland 2050 conference and the managing director of Pentland Communications