Stay in the middle if you want to come first
TO borrow a phrase, I come to bury Kez, not to praise her. Kezia Dugdale was a far better leader than the Scottish Labour Party deserved in 2015 but she made mistakes, as we all do.
Here are some lessons the next leader whoever he, and it looks like it might be a man, should learn from her. Five things Kez got wrong: 1. Flirted with independence. Dugdale undermined herself and beleaguered Labour loyalists when she said she might consider voting for separation. Nicola Sturgeon stooped to conquer (and damaged herself ) by throwing fresh doubt on Dugdale with the accusation she had privately backed a second referendum as a post-Brexit option. 2. Attacked the leader but failed to topple him. When Dugdale joined calls for Corbyn to resign and backed Owen Smith, she was speaking for Scottish members. But hers was neither a full-blooded mutiny nor a resignation. It was a battle a more astute politician would have avoided and it overshadowed her tenure. 3. Struggled to turn Scotland into a three-cornered fight. In a political duel, it is difficult to be heard from the wings. Dugdale did not master the impossible art of being the third party leader, admittedly few politicians can. 4. She lacked a killer instinct. It comes from being a genuinely nice person in a ruthless game. In life it sometimes happens but in politics the nice guys don’t win. 5. Didn’t get the timing right. Was there ever a good time to be Scottish Labour leader? She came to office too young with the party at their lowest ebb. She leaves too early, granting Corbyn the opportunity to seize the balance of power on Labour’s ruling body, the National Executive Council. And five things the next Scottish Labour leader must get right 1. Surf the Corbyn wave but don’t kid yourself.
Corbyn’s speeches in Scotland were the debating equivalent of reading a Cal Mac ferry timetable out loud but the crowds loved him. That bewildering phenomenon might be a clue to him just being this summer’s flavour.
Don’t count on Corbyn being this popular with the youth vote for long and he will be just shy of 73 at the next general election. Build your own brand. 2. Kill off Indyref 2. The gas could be turned up on independence very quickly if Tory Brexiteers wreck the UK’s economic future. Let the Tories make the case for Unionism, Labour have to make the case for Britain.
The socialist principles for being better together have been neglected for too long. 3. Set the agenda. In the latter part of her leadership, Dugdale developed a bread and butter platform focusing on health, education and social justice. Built on those foundations, the national debate is listing back from the fixation with the constitution. Labour can lead the way. 4. Fight the real Tories. Ruth Davidson and her crew are bad news for working class communities. The small state, tax-cutting Tories are not where instinctive Labour voters should be going with their votes. 5. Take a long walk, preferably from Eastwood to Easterhouse. It’s only 13 miles and a pilgrimage from one of the richest communities in Scotland to one of the poorest would symbolise Labour who are for everyone in the country. It might be tempting to veer off the path to the left but the walk is only the beginning of a journey to Bute House.
Don’t leave the middle path is still the best advice for anyone who really aspires to be Labour’s next First Minister.