Leonard has to go for sake of party, says ex-Nato chief
THE prospect of a Labour recovery in Scotland would be boosted if its leader quits, says a former defence secretary.
Party grandee Lord George Robertson yesterday called for Richard Leonard to stand down in order to help Scottish Labour’s prospects.
Mr Leonard has refused to stand aside despite a growing rebellion, with four MSPs, four peers and a prominent member of the party’s UK shadow cabinet all calling for him to go.
It has sparked a renewed bout of infighting, with Mr Leonard’s supporters launching strongly worded attacks on his critics.
Lord Robertson, a former Secretary General of Nato, told BBC Good Morning Scotland: ‘It’s more in sorrow than in anger that I say if Labour in Scotland is going to be the alternative government in both the UK and in Scotland, then we have to do something about it, and him standing down would be a start in recovering Labour’s forin tunes in Scotland and Labour’s chances of forming a UK government at the next election.’
He added: ‘In all decency and in honour, he should look at the example of Jeremy Corbyn, Ed Miliband, Kezia Dugdale, Neil Kinnock and even Michael Foot, who all resigned after dreadful election results.
‘We have got to recover in Scotland in order to produce a Labour government and it can only be done if we have a new leader in Scotland and we have a different attitude to the Scottish people.’
Rebels within the party believe they have the numbers to force a challenge – but no one has publicly come forward to stand against the leader.
Mr Leonard has ruled out taking part in a leadership contest order to silence doubters in Scottish Labour. He said: ‘I was elected to lead Scottish Labour less than three years ago.
‘After a period in which the party got through five leaders in six years, I was elected with a clear mandate to lead our party into the 2021 Scottish parliament election.’
Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray came under fire from the Left of his party after it was revealed he was on the brink of quitting and joining the now-defunct Independent Group of MPs.
A new book on Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader says the Edinburgh South MP was on the brink of resigning from the party before changing his mind at the 11th hour.
The book, Left Out, says he was considering becoming the eighth Labour MP to join the breakaway Change UK.
He was photographed standing at a podium with MPs from the group, said to be a rehearsal for their launch event.
But Mr Murray said yesterday: ‘All my life I’ve fought for a Labour government as I passionately believe in the values of my party.
‘Many despaired and examined their own consciences over that period, and for very good reason. In the end, I decided to stay and fight for the party and I was absolutely right to do so.’