Scottish Labour leader candidates warn party ‘deeply disconnected’ and engulfed in ‘worst ever crisis’
MSPs hoping to become the next Scottish Labour leader have given a bleak assessment of the party’s standing with the public
Scottish Labour has become “deeply disconnected” with the country and has been engulfed in the party’s “worst ever crisis”, those vying to replace Anas Sarwar have warned.
In the first Scottish Labour leader hustings, the three candidates hoping to replace Mr Sarwar, gave a stark assessment of the situation the party is facing following its humbling defeat in May’s election.
Michael Marra, perceived as the frontrunner to become the next Scottish Labour leader, told members in Glasgow that May’s defeat “really hurts”.
He said: “How many times are we going to meet after losing another election to the SNP?”
Mr Marra added: “We were told again and again that we would win. I was told that I was going to win the safest SNP seat in the country. It shows how deeply disconnected we have become.”
The North East MSP claimed “that’s not a criticism of Anas”.
“We’ve done this nine times before”, he said. “Together, we have failed to solve the problems.
“I do worry that we have not articulated quite how bad it actually was.”
He warned that in May’s election, Scottish Labour “lost to a feckless, incompetent and corrupt SNP”.
In a further dig at previous Scottish Labour leaderships, Mr Marra warned against “repeating the same mistakes, sniping and complaining”.
He appealed to his colleagues to “change our culture”, hitting out at “negative, cowardly briefing” already seen during the campaign by party colleagues.
“Our problem is much deeper than structures, rulebooks or standing orders”, he said.
“Our connection with the country has been weakened over years while nationalism has shaped the political debate and populists have occupied the space that we once filled.”
Monica Lennon, who rejoined the Scottish Parliament after Mr Sarwar quit to take up a peerage, warned “this is Scottish Labour’s worst ever crisis”.
“Anyone who plays this down is an obstacle to our recovery,” she added.
Billing herself as “the most experienced politician” in the running to become the next leader, Ms Lennon said it was time Scottish Labour “stops sleepwalking into electoral oblivion”.
She told members the party can "continue with the old ways that lost us the election and talented MSPs” or “choose a leader with vision, courage and empathy to make us electable”.
Ms Lennon suggested she would be “a leader that will not accept the small and tired party that we are today” as she appealed for an end to the “dirty tricks and smears”.
She told the hustings that her politics is “rooted in democratic socialism”.
“I will always back workers to have fair pay and conditions,” Ms Lennon said. “I will defend women’s rights and I will defend LGBTQ rights.”
READ MORE: Monica Lennon: Scottish Labour leadership contest 'reeks of misogyny and male entitlement'
Ms Lennon, who has previously opposed new oil and gas developments, as has the UK Labour government, did not say whether the Rosebank and Jackdaw plans should be approved, unlike her rivals, arguing that those at Westminster have all the “evidence” to make a decision.
Asked about expanding English regional mayors to Scotland, she warned against a “jobs for the boys situation”, but said she maintained an “open mind” on the issue.
Joe Fagan, who was elected as an MSP for the first time in May, acknowledged the election was “painful for us all” as he appealed for the party to “prove again that Labour is firmly and squarely on the side of the working people of this country”.
He called for a move to “rebuild trust and prove again we are on people’s side”.
Mr Fagan called on the party to “seize this moment” and “rebuild Scottish Labour as the party of working people of Scotland”.
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