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| Labour urges swift contest to replace Kezia Dugdale as Scottish leader | Labour urges swift contest to replace Kezia Dugdale as Scottish leader |
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| Labour’s Westminster leadership will be urging a quick contest to replace Kezia Dugdale as the leader of the party in Scotland, which will be a key battleground at the next general election. | Labour’s Westminster leadership will be urging a quick contest to replace Kezia Dugdale as the leader of the party in Scotland, which will be a key battleground at the next general election. |
| “What we in the UK party have made perfectly clear is that Scotland is where the next election will be won,” said one senior figure. | “What we in the UK party have made perfectly clear is that Scotland is where the next election will be won,” said one senior figure. |
| Dugdale surprised her party by announcing her resignation on Tuesday night. Allies said it was a personal decision, driven by the relentless pace of Scottish politics over the past two years, and exacerbated by tensions with the party leadership in London. | Dugdale surprised her party by announcing her resignation on Tuesday night. Allies said it was a personal decision, driven by the relentless pace of Scottish politics over the past two years, and exacerbated by tensions with the party leadership in London. |
| Neil Findlay, the MSP who ran Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign in Scotland, has publicly ruled himself out of the contest. In a statement, Findlay said: “I will not be putting my name forward in this election. I wish Kezia and those who may wish to succeed her the very best for the future.” | Neil Findlay, the MSP who ran Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership campaign in Scotland, has publicly ruled himself out of the contest. In a statement, Findlay said: “I will not be putting my name forward in this election. I wish Kezia and those who may wish to succeed her the very best for the future.” |
| In Dugdale’s resignation letter, she said the loss of her close friend, Gordon Aikman, earlier this year had made her reconsider her priorities. “His terminal illness forced him to identify what he really wanted from life, how to make the most of it and how to make a difference,” she said. | In Dugdale’s resignation letter, she said the loss of her close friend, Gordon Aikman, earlier this year had made her reconsider her priorities. “His terminal illness forced him to identify what he really wanted from life, how to make the most of it and how to make a difference,” she said. |
| A close ally said her decision had been a personal one. “She hasn’t spoken to me or anyone as I understand it. My guess is the constant attacks and backbiting by the left who wish to ‘unite’ the party was the last straw. However, her resignation letter is probably the way she feels,” he said. | |
| He said attacks within the party from critics such as Findlay, Corbyn’s leadership campaign manager in Scotland and a senior figure in the leftwing Campaign for Socialism, the Scottish party’s equivalent of Momentum, will have added to her fatigue and frustration. | He said attacks within the party from critics such as Findlay, Corbyn’s leadership campaign manager in Scotland and a senior figure in the leftwing Campaign for Socialism, the Scottish party’s equivalent of Momentum, will have added to her fatigue and frustration. |
| Corbyn underlined the importance of Scotland to the leadership in Westminster when he spent five days last week touring the country, including seats Labour hopes it could take from the Scottish National party. | Corbyn underlined the importance of Scotland to the leadership in Westminster when he spent five days last week touring the country, including seats Labour hopes it could take from the Scottish National party. |
| Dugdale fought hard to establish a more federal structure in Labour, securing a seat for the leader of the Scottish party on the ruling national executive committee, which makes crucial decisions about how the party is run. | Dugdale fought hard to establish a more federal structure in Labour, securing a seat for the leader of the Scottish party on the ruling national executive committee, which makes crucial decisions about how the party is run. |
| Her deputy, Alex Rowley, will stand in for her for the time being – including on the finely balanced NEC – and is regarded by other members as more likely to support Corbyn. “Jeremy will have things all his own way,” said one. | Her deputy, Alex Rowley, will stand in for her for the time being – including on the finely balanced NEC – and is regarded by other members as more likely to support Corbyn. “Jeremy will have things all his own way,” said one. |
| Unite, Labour’s biggest donor, urged the Scottish party on Wednesday not to rush into a contest. Praising Dugdale for increasing the party’s number of seats at Westminster from one MP when she took over two years ago to seven today, the union’s Scottish secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: “We urge the party to reflect upon this turn of fortunes and consolidate, not to act in undue haste on any succession plan.” | Unite, Labour’s biggest donor, urged the Scottish party on Wednesday not to rush into a contest. Praising Dugdale for increasing the party’s number of seats at Westminster from one MP when she took over two years ago to seven today, the union’s Scottish secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: “We urge the party to reflect upon this turn of fortunes and consolidate, not to act in undue haste on any succession plan.” |
| He added: “There is no need to rush into a leadership election. Under Alex Rowley’s leadership we are confident that the voices of Scotland’s working people will be heard loud and clear at Holyrood.” | He added: “There is no need to rush into a leadership election. Under Alex Rowley’s leadership we are confident that the voices of Scotland’s working people will be heard loud and clear at Holyrood.” |
| A spokesman for Corbyn said the timing of any contest would be up to the Scottish executive committee to decide. “The SEC will meet on Saturday September 9 to consider the timetable and process for selecting their next leader,” he said. | A spokesman for Corbyn said the timing of any contest would be up to the Scottish executive committee to decide. “The SEC will meet on Saturday September 9 to consider the timetable and process for selecting their next leader,” he said. |
| Candidates are expected to emerge in the coming days. Unlike the rules for UK Labour, there is no requirement for them to show that they can command the support of a proportion of MPs or MSPs – their names are simply put forward to a ballot of the whole membership. | Candidates are expected to emerge in the coming days. Unlike the rules for UK Labour, there is no requirement for them to show that they can command the support of a proportion of MPs or MSPs – their names are simply put forward to a ballot of the whole membership. |
| So far, all of the likely candidates are men, but senior Labour women have pointed out that Dugdale was the only woman among Labour’s key leadership figures – Corbyn, his deputy Tom Watson, and the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones. | So far, all of the likely candidates are men, but senior Labour women have pointed out that Dugdale was the only woman among Labour’s key leadership figures – Corbyn, his deputy Tom Watson, and the Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones. |
| The Birmingham Yardley MP, Jess Phillips, said: “The Labour party has a thorny issue to face, as if Kez was replaced by a man all of our leadership positions go to men. People will shout meritocracy as if women aren’t good enough and the best person for the job is always a man, but what’s not good enough is if Labour women are always sidelined.” | The Birmingham Yardley MP, Jess Phillips, said: “The Labour party has a thorny issue to face, as if Kez was replaced by a man all of our leadership positions go to men. People will shout meritocracy as if women aren’t good enough and the best person for the job is always a man, but what’s not good enough is if Labour women are always sidelined.” |