Scottish Labour ‘like an abusive relationship’
Former candidate alleges she was bullied by colleagues while in party
A FORMER Scottish Labour candidate has compared staying in the party to being in an “abusive relationship”.
Left winger Angela Feeney, who quit Labour in March, also claimed to have been bullied by colleagues.
And she blasted her former party for blocking the “right” to have a second independence referendum.
Feeney, who is a councillor in North Lanarkshire, was the Labour candidate in Motherwell and Wishaw in 2017 and again in December last year.
A supporter of former leader Jeremy Corbyn, she left the party amid a row over not voting with fellow Labour colleagues on the local budget.
She said at the time: “Today, with a heavy heart, I could not vote for any budget that will see £31million of cuts being taken from our communities.
“It is time we offered real #RESISTANCE and say enough is enough.”
After a fellow left winger criticised the decision by Labour leader Keir Starmer to fire Rebecca Long-Bailey from the shadow cabinet, Feeney posted further details of her departure on Facebook. She said Labour had made her life a “living hell” for the past three years and alleged bullying by unnamed colleagues.
She added: “People are saying to me, ‘If I leave, where will I go?’ It sounds like they are in an abusive relationship which they kind if (sic) are.
“You don’t need to go anywhere, you can still be political without being tied to that s**t-show.”
On IndyRef2, which Scottish Labour now opposes unconditionally, Feeney wrote: “Can you imagine chapping doors next year saying, ‘We will block your right to have a referendum’. Get out and organise.”
Labour went into the general election opposing IndyRef2 but also promising not to block it if it was the wish of the Scottish people. The Scottish party recently dumped this caveat.
Feeney told the Record she had made complaints to the party and is still awaiting an outcome.
Scottish Labour declined to comment.