Claws out in the political jungle

KEZIA Dugdale stepped up to lead Scottish Labour when no one else really wanted the job.

For two years, the Lothians MSP put up with constant sniping and backstabbing while trying against the odds to right a listing ship.

Is it any wonder she jumped at the chance of a break on the other side of the world?

It doesn’t say much about the state of the party that she’d rather spend time among C-list celebs and creepy crawlies.

But while she’s crunching bugs in the jungle, her erstwhile colleagues could use the time for a bit of soul-searching too.

Is Dugdale’s TV job really that bad? Honestly?

She’ll get a prime-time chance to reach out to viewers and articulate her politics.

Money from the show will help charitable causes – just like funds from her Record column helped research into motor neurone disease.

Yet to judge from the hysterical, over-thetop reaction of some of her detractors you’d think a young woman appearing on a reality TV show was the greatest crime against Scotland since the Highland Clearances.

Some of the criticism she’s faced has been hostile to point of outright vindictive hatred.

Dugdale’s critics claim her decision blunts their attacks on second-jobbing politicians like Douglas Ross – the Tory MP who would rather referee football matches than turn up to votes on universal credit.

It’s notable his Conservative friends offered him support and loyalty, rather than taking it as an opportunity to settle old scores in public.

And a one-off charitable TV gig is totally different from holding a second job while being an MP in the UK’s ruling party.

Under Richard Leonard, Scottish Labour must pull together, get a grip and fight their real opponents.

Right now, the Tories and the SNP are simply tucking into the popcorn and watching Labour tear themselves apart.

And for anyone who truly cares about the party that should leave an even worse aftertaste than a Bushtucker Trial.