SCOTTISH Labour are once again looking at ways to oust leader Richard Leonard after the latest Holyrood poll put them on track to secure just 14% of the constituency vote.
One former minister said if the party continues the way it is going there is a risk of “annihilation” in next year’s Scottish Parliament vote.
Another said if Leonard stays in place then the party is “finished”.
Earlier this year a series of Scottish Labour figures publicly called for Leonard to resign, with James Kelly stepping down from the shadow cabinet in protest of his leadership.
But the no-confidence vote in Leonard was withdrawn at a Scottish Executive Committee meeting and the leader clung on to power.
READ MORE: Scottish independence: 15th poll in a row finds majority support for Yes
Now the election is less than six months away and polls are not seeing any improvements on where they were in the spring.
The ex-minister told The Herald: “There is a strain of thinking that says: if we let Richard stay and he loses at the Holyrood election, then he will go and we will recover.
“The trouble is, it will be too late by then; we would have lost half of our MSPs, lost public confidence and we might even have been overtaken by the Greens. The position would be irrecoverable.”
Insiders say Labour Party leader Keir Starmer privately believes that Leonard cannot stay on, with concerns about his own potential to become Prime Minister if things do not improve in Scotland.
Another suggested Starmer should call on the trade unions to influence Leonard into stepping down.
Party figures suggested figures like deputy leader Jackie Baillie, Sarah Boyak or constitution spokesman Anas Sarwar could replace Leonard.
However, Leonard insisted he is not going anywhere. “I will be leading Scottish Labour into the 2021 election on a transformative socialist platform to revive the economy in post-Covid Scotland.
"Scottish Labour members elected me to do this and I will be making the party's case to the electorate ahead of polling day in May, based on policies such as the green new deal to create 130,000 jobs."
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