Dugdale plunges Scottish Labour into new crisis after Corbyn win

SPECIAL REPORT BY TOM GORDON, PAUL HUTCHEON AND ANDREW WHITAKER

KEZIA Dugdale has plunged her party into a fresh crisis by claiming Jeremy Corbyn cannot unite Labour or win a general election, just minutes after he was re-elected as UK leader. His mandate enhanced by a convincing 62 to 38 per cent win over Owen Smith, Corbyn told Labour members in Liverpool yesterday: “I have no doubt that this party can win the next General Election.” But almost immediately, Dugdale contradicted him in an interview with BBC News.

Asked about a recent newspaper article in which she wrote “I don’t think Jeremy can unite our party and lead us into government”, the Scottish Labour leader replied: “I’m not changing that view. It’s very clear. It’s written down.”

Facing a backlash from Corbyn supporters, Dugdale later scrambled to reverse her position, telling BBC Scotland that “of course” a Labour Party led by Corbyn can win an election. However, the damage was done, and the blunder has put her leadership back in the spotlight.

Dugdale, who supported Smith for leader, cast doubt on Corbyn’s sincerity about delivering unity as soon as his victory was announced just before noon yesterday. In an inflammatory statement issued after Corbyn offered to “wipe the slate clean” after months of bitter infighting, Dugdale said it would be “difficult” for him to achieve.

She said: “Jeremy can unite the Labour Party, but he needs to want to unite it. That means he needs to work with both the party across the country and MPs to provide an effective opposition to the Tories. It will be a difficult task for Jeremy, but not an impossible one.”

Dugdale, who half-heartedly clapped Corbyn’s win before dashing from the conference hall while he was being congratulated inside, now faces a revolt from his backers. Many Scottish Labour members are already unhappy that she called Corbyn “not competent” in July, despite campaigning alongside him at the Holyrood election, then publicly declared for his rival.

Pat Rafferty, Scottish general secretary of the super-union Unite, Labour’s biggest donor, said Dugdale’s questioning of Corbyn’s willingness to unite Labour was “ridiculous”. He said: “It seems to imply that Jeremy doesn’t want to unite the party, but throughout the campaign he has done nothing but call for unity. It’s a ridiculous statement to make.”

Former London mayor Ken Livingstone said: “Most people in Britain have not heard of her [Dugdale] and frankly what she said is wrong after Jeremy won a convincing leadership election twice in a year. She should get behind Jeremy and stop whining.”

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell added: “Kezia needs to listen to the speech that Jeremy gave after the result of the election was announced. Jeremy made it extremely clear that he wants to unite the party and this was well-received by delegates. Kezia can play a role in bringing the party together and help us work closely in taking on the Tories and the SNP. Jeremy badly wants this unity. Kezia will fully understand that when she and Jeremy talk in the days and weeks ahead.”

Labour’s elections chairman Jon Trickett said: “It’s the job of all of us to get behind the leader and on reflection she might feel that she was not as full-hearted as she could have been for the leader.”

Vince Mills, of the Campaign for Socialism, said: “It’s going to be difficult for Kez to unite the Scottish Labour party if that’s her attitude. It’s clear that the new members in Scotland have come from the left and we now have a left-wing party, although more narrowly than in England. I don’t think Kez is accepting that. When she first took over there was the very positive October conference, with steps to the left. But since then she’s shown signs of returning to her default position on the right of the party.”

He said next May’s council elections could be decisive. “If Kezia led from the front and made it clear she wanted a party that’s quite different from Corbyn’s, and Labour lost, then I think that would be a signal that perhaps the leadership needs to change.”

Dugdale’s Scottish Labour deputy Alex Rowley, who backed Corbyn, said pointedly: “I think Jeremy Corbyn is absolutely committed to uniting the party and the country.”

Labour MSP Elaine Smith added: “I think Jeremy does want to take the party to victory. I think he’s a man of steel when you look at what has happened over the summer.”

Fire Brigades Union general secretary Matt Wrack said that, unlike Dugdale, Corbyn had tried to be conciliatory. “She has misjudged the views of Labour and union members with this statement.”

Manuel Cortés, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, added: “The leader of the Scottish Labour Party has got a responsibility to work to unite the party. She’s