KEZIA Dugdale’s bid to become Scottish Labour leader last night suffered a significant set back when she was accused of backtracking by giving a gushing interview about Jeremy Corbyn’s campaign just a week after attacking his candidacy.
As the contest enters its final days Labour sources said they believed Dugdale is being forced to win back grassroots support she lost over criticising Corbyn and stop people voting at the last minute for her rival Ken Macintosh.
“Kezia is now rolling back on what she was saying about Jeremy Corbyn. She has two days left to get votes and Corbyn is clearly the man of the moment. Maybe she is thinking the contest with Ken Macintosh is closer than anyone would have expected,” said one insider.
A second added: “Ken has run a much more positive campaign. He’s gained a lot of support and is coming out of it well.
“He spoke out a while back about the personal attacks on Corbyn and said people needed to stop doing that. It was brave of him to do that and people respect him for it.”
Last week Dugdale suggested that under Corbyn’s leadership Labour would be left “carping from the sidelines” and that he lacked the credentials to become Prime Minister. But yesterday in a dramatic change of tack, Dugdale insisted their politics were not “widely different” and she in fact shared Corbyn’s anti-austerity message.
Last night Pete Wishart, the SNP group leader at Westminster, accused Dugdale of “desperate back-tracking” in a bid not to lose the Scottish leadership election.
“I was astounded when I heard Kezia Dugdale speaking about Jeremy Corbyn today,” said Wishart. “It was totally inconsistent with what she said previously. The campaign was Kezia Dugdale’s to lose and it looks like she is doing all she can to achieve that.
“There is no doubt she profoundly regrets her earlier remarks which seem to have alienated quite a few of the people who are being asked to vote for her. To do this desperate back-tracking now is just opportunistic.”
He added: “Kezia Dugdale couldn’t be further away from the very real anti-austerity beliefs of Jeremy Corbyn. It is quite disingenuous of her to try to buy into the momentum that he has gathered.”
Dugdale’s dramatic change of approach took place in a BBC interview yesterday when she was asked whether she was concerned about losing support following her Corbyn comments. She responded: “Look, I recognise that Jeremy Corbyn is getting a tremendous amount of support. You can ask yourself why is that? Well it’s quite clear he is offering a straight-talking honest politics.
‘‘All I did in that [previous] interview was ask the question – and I have a vote in this election – as to whether or not he wants to be Prime Minister and that is hardly the most critical thing anybody has said ... I am excited about his campaign.”
She avoided answering the question whether she would vote for Corbyn, replying that she would looking forward to seeing him speak and to meeting him when he arrives in Scotland.
“I am going to one of the many sold-out events that he has across Scotland. I am going to see him speak at the EICC on Friday and then I am going to meet with him afterwards and I really look forward to that.
“I am excited to talk to him about Scotland and our future as a country and about Labour politics,” she told interviewer Gary Robertson, who pointed out Dugdale had supported Labour signing the Fiscal Charter which could have led to the cut in Scotland’s block grant, while Corbyn did not, putting them at odds in the debate.
“I don’t think our politics are widely different. Here’s a shocker for, you Gary ... we’re both in the Labour party and the Labour party is a big family and a broad movement.”
She added: “I think that I and Jeremy Corbyn share the same views when it comes to building a fairer, more equal economy and trying to build a welfare system which is fair.”
Dugdale also insisted she shared similar views to Corbyn on welfare cuts and had spoken out about Tory plans to reduce child tax credits.
Earlier this week a YouGov poll put Corbyn significantly ahead in the UK leadership contest, with 53 per cent of the vote, 32 points ahead of his closest rival Andy Burnham on 21 per cent.
Corbyn, who arrives in Scotland today for a two-day tour, began the race as a rank outsider, managing to just get enough nominations to take part.
However, his presence has electrified the contest with “Corbynmania” taking hold as hundreds of supporters flock to hear him speak out about welfare cuts, Trident and the privatisation of the railways and other public services.
Voting closes tomorrow in the Scottish Labour leader contest, with the new leader and deputy leader announced on Saturday.
Last night a source close to Dugdale said her earlier comments on Corbyn had been misinterpreted and that her position on Corbyn had not shifted significantly.
In an article for the Guardian today Tony Blair warned the Labour party is in the worst danger in its 100-year history and faces possible annihilation if Corbyn becomes leader. The former Prime Minister wrote: “It doesn’t matter whether you’re on the left, right or centre of the party, whether you used to support me or hate me.
“But please understand the danger we are in. The party is walking eyes shut, arms outstretched over the cliff’s edge to the jagged rocks below. This is not a moment to refrain from disturbing the serenity of the walk on the basis it causes ‘disunity’. It is a moment for a rugby tackle if that were possible.”
The National View, August 13: A saviour Labour’s establishment wants to crucify
Former Murphy aide McTernan back on offensive in anti-Corbyn rant
Jeremy Corbyns's Scottish tour
Ken Macintosh: I will work with any and all progressive politicians
Kezia Dugdale: Our mission is to take Holyrood to task but to also renew our vision
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