This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-48435192

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Labour MSP Neil Findlay to quit Holyrood Two MSPs quit Scottish Labour front bench team
(about 3 hours later)
MSP Neil Findlay has quit Scottish Labour's front bench and is to stand down from the Scottish Parliament at the next election. Two MSPs have quit Scottish Labour's front bench team with the party in turmoil after the European elections.
The Lothians MSP was the party's Brexit spokesman and business manager, and he ran its European election campaign. Neil Findlay quit as Brexit spokesman and also said he would step down from Holyrood at the 2021 election.
He said he had been thinking about his position for six months, and had decided to step down in March. He insisted he had made the decision in March, but hit out at "eternal internal fighting" and a "toxic culture of leaks and briefings" by some MPs and MSPs.
However, he urged the party to end its "eternal internal fighting" and "toxic culture of leaks and briefings". Daniel Johnson later resigned as party justice spokesman, criticising Labour's "current direction and leadership".
Scottish leader Richard Leonard said he was "very sorry" that Mr Findlay was stepping down and praised his "outstanding" work as an MSP. Scottish leader Richard Leonard told reporters he was "prepared to take the flak for what was a poor result" in the European elections, with Labour finishing in fifth place with less than 10% of the vote.
Mr Findlay was previously a Labour councillor in West Lothian, and has been an MSP since 2011. An ally of Jeremy Corbyn, he was closely involved in Mr Leonard's campaign to become Scottish Labour leader in 2018. But he insisted that he would not be resigning, urging the party to "come together to build a way forward".
In his resignation letter, Mr Findlay said he had been "considering this for the last six months and made my final decision in March following discussions with my family, my staff and close friends". There had been calls from some in the party to examine what went wrong with the campaign, which was organised by Mr Findlay.
He said it had been "an enormous privilege" to serve the Scottish Labour Party as a councillor and an MSP, and said he would continue to work "hard and diligently" until the 2021 election.
Mr Findlay said he believed the party needed to have a "clear and easily understood position on the constitution" and "end the eternal internal fighting within our party and the toxic culture of leaks and briefings that come from some within the Scottish and UK parliamentary groups".
There had been calls for action from some in Labour following the European elections, which saw Labour finish fifth in Scotland with less than 10% of the vote.
The party has been urged to examine what went wrong with the campaign, which was organised by Mr Findlay.
Johanna Baxter, a member of the Scottish party's executive committee, said the result was "a failure of leadership on the biggest issue facing our country for generations".Johanna Baxter, a member of the Scottish party's executive committee, said the result was "a failure of leadership on the biggest issue facing our country for generations".
On Monday, Mr Leonard said he was "humbled by the scale of the defeat", and gave his backing to holding another referendum on Brexit.On Monday, Mr Leonard said he was "humbled by the scale of the defeat", and gave his backing to holding another referendum on Brexit.
In his reply to Mr Findlay's resignation letter, Mr Leonard said he was "very sorry" about the decision but said "I know from our conversations that this is the right decision for you personally". In his resignation letter, Mr Findlay said Labour needed a "clear and easily understood position on the constitution".
He said: "I agree with you very much that our party will only advance when we decisively look outward to the public rather than in on ourselves, and I am pleased that you will be using your remaining time here to build the movement that will help us achieve this objective. However he insisted that his departure had already been in the pipeline, saying he had been thinking about it for six months.
"Tony Benn famously left the House of Commons to spend more time on politics, and I am sure that this approach will be a very good precedent for the next phase of your contribution." He said it had been "an enormous privilege" to serve the Scottish Labour Party as a councillor and an MSP, and said he would continue to work "hard and diligently" until the 2021 election.
SNP MSP Humza Yousaf tweeted that Mr Findlay was "abandoning a sinking ship", adding that it "truly does feel like an existential moment for Scottish Labour". Mr Findlay said he believed the party needed to "end the eternal internal fighting within our party and the toxic culture of leaks and briefings that come from some within the Scottish and UK parliamentary groups".
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she was not sure that she had "ever agreed on anything" with Mr Findlay, but said he was "an important and challenging voice in Holyrood and will be missed". Mr Johnson did link his resignation as justice spokesman specifically to the European election results, noting that the party had finished sixth in Edinburgh, the city he represents.
In his letter to Mr Leonard, he said: "My constituents are clear not only that we must have another referendum, but that we must make every effort to ensure the UK remains a member of the EU. This is a view that I share.
"Quite simply, I do not feel I can represent my constituents effectively unless I can articulate and represent this view. I do not believe that I can do this from the front bench under the current direction and leadership of the party."
'Look outward'
After a lengthy meeting of the MSP group, Mr Leonard told reporters that he would not be resigning from his post.
He said there was "a determination in the group to find a constructive way forward" after the "incredibly bad result", which saw Labour lose both of its Scottish MEPs.
The leader said he was "very sorry" that his "friend" Mr Findlay was stepping down, and praised his "outstanding" work as an MSP.
In his reply to Mr Findlay's resignation letter, he said: "I agree with you very much that our party will only advance when we decisively look outward to the public rather than in on ourselves, and I am pleased that you will be using your remaining time here to build the movement that will help us achieve this objective."
The Scottish Conservatives said that "people who once voted Labour must be wondering what on earth is going on", with MSP Annie Wells saying: "Scottish Labour has once again come out of an election and decided to form a circular firing squad."