SCOTTISH Labour's ruling executive committee will hold a vote of no confidence in its leader Richard Leonard tomorrow.
That comes after 10 members of the Scottish Executive Committee demanded an emergency meeting on the matter, following days of for and against declarations from MSPs, councillors, grandees and members in the wake of dismal opinion poll results.
Today committee member Johanna Baxter asked party members for their views on social media, saying she needs to hear them before casting her vote.
There have been almost 90 public responses to her call so far, with North Ayrshire council leader Joe Cullinane asking her to "oppose the coup".
He said: "I have had loads of members from our area messaging me over recent weeks in despair at recent attacks on Richard. They are sick to the bath [sic] teeth of people in privileged positions undermining the leader and party."
Former MP Danielle Rowley, who lost her seat in December, also commented, saying Labour in-fighting "is a huge part of our public trust issue".
She went on: "A divisive leadership election in the run up to an election is madness. I urge you to back Richard."
East Ayshire Councillor John McGhee was also amongst Leonard's supporters, calling the situation "scandalous".
But Duncan Hothersall, editor of Labour Hame, said Leonard "needs to go".
And member Ross Newton said: "There's a higher chance of everyone who replied to this winning the Euromillions than RL turning this around."
Hi Johanna, RL should go. Quite simply, he is not a leader. He has failed. Three years in, 52% have no opinion of him.
— Ross Newton (@RossNewton_) September 11, 2020
There's a higher chance of everyone who replied to this winning the Euromillions than RL turning this around. What other party would accept this?
Baxter, who has held a number of party roles, appealed to her party to "stop eating itself", stating: "Whatever happens tomorrow, we need to start turning our fire not against ourselves but against the SNP and Tory governments that are destroying our country right now."
She went on: "We owe it to the people of this country to be an effective opposition, to speak up for them and stand up for them and put forward an alternative vision which will protect their interests.
"So whatever the result tomorrow, we need to come together and unite."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel