Scottish Labour’s leadership contest has become the focus of increasingly bitter internal tensions following the party’s election defeat, with the SNP claiming the turmoil shows it is more concerned with internal power struggles than Scotland’s political future.
The contest follows Anas Sarwar’s departure from the leadership after Labour recorded what the SNP describes as its worst election result, with disagreements now emerging around the candidates seeking to succeed him.
Michael Marra has faced accusations surrounding plans to remove party staff, while Joe Fagan’s candidacy has become associated with senior Labour figure Jackie Baillie and Monica Lennon has faced difficulties securing a place on the ballot amid claims of sexism.
Former Labour leader and First Minister Henry McLeish has now intervened in the dispute, warning about the damage being caused by the infighting and urging his party to “get the hell out of personality conflicts.”
The SNP has inevitably seized upon the turmoil, arguing that the leadership contest has concentrated on personalities and internal disputes rather than the political questions Labour must answer following its election defeat.
Jack Middleton MSP said:
“Just when you think Scottish Labour has hit rock bottom, they excavate another layer.
“While Anas Sarwar swans about The Fringe, his faithful servants have been left to scavenge a successor from the rubble of their electoral destruction.
“The leadership contest has descended into a bitter civil war, with the staff Anas Sarwar threw under the bus now facing the chop from Michael Marra.
“For Labour Party politicians, it is almost always about personalities and power struggles, not the people of Scotland and that is exactly what this leadership contest demonstrates.
“There has been no debate about independence, the preferred future of the Scottish people, just savage barbs exchanged concerning internal Scottish Labour squabbles.
“For as long as Scottish Labour refuse to engage with the reason of their defeat, they will continue to be punished at the ballot box, you cannot deny democracy to Scotland and expect the trust of our people.”
Middleton’s comments are firmly political argument rather than an independent assessment of why Labour lost the election, but they underline how quickly rival parties are seeking to exploit the divisions surrounding the leadership contest.
For Scottish Labour, the more important question will ultimately be what emerges once the internal battle is over, with its next leader facing the task of rebuilding the party after its election defeat and deciding what, if anything, needs to change before voters are asked to judge it again.
