Labour chaos leaves only one opposition

ONLY one thing seems certain amid the chaos and confusion caused by the departure of Kezia Dugdale – Scottish Labour is heading for a period of division, uncertainty and introspection.

That could easily evolve into irrelevance. For while Miss Dugdale’s reasons for demitting the leadership post are enmeshed in her personal life – she clearly felt the loss of close friend Gordon Aikman to motor neurone disease keenly – the schism within her party also played a part.

It may not have been a putsch from the Corbynistas to the Left that forced her hand, but unhappiness with her leadership cannot be dismissed.

Under Marxist Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the party nationally lurched Left, leaving a centrist such as Miss Dugdale on shifting sands. It is certain also that the party’s hard Left will now be keen to consolidate its position in Scotland by ensuring that the next leader is a dyed-in-the-wool Corbynista.

So the choice for Scottish voters is increasingly clear-cut. On the far Left, Scottish Labour’s policies – drawn from the 1970 Bumper Book of Union Agitation – will make it unelectable. Meanwhile the SNP remains fixated on independence. It does not matter to the Nationalists that they still have no cogent plan for financing a standalone Scotland.

They also care little that Scots want a competent government at Holyrood, not one letting so many key areas slide – education, health, justice, transport – while they draw constitutional castles in the air.

Meanwhile Ruth Davidson’s muscular brand of compassionate Conservatism has clearly won favour with voters. Tory support for the Union – in complete contrast to Miss Dugdale’s vacillation – has been unwavering. The Tories know the greatest single threat to the future prosperity of Scots is the break-up of the United Kingdom.

Miss Davidson opposed Brexit but respects the democratic result and knows the key priority now is to get the best possible deal for the UK and Scotland.

On issues such as immigration, Miss Davidson knows that Scotland, with an ageing population, has different needs from those of England. She has shown she will go head-to-head with those in her own party who refuse to accept that reality.

It is vital for there to be a strong opposition to the SNP in Holyrood. As Labour absents itself for another bout of internecine strife, thank goodness the Tories can hold Nicola Sturgeon to account.