A serious contender at the top

Keir Starmer’s election as leader of the Labour Party draws a line under a truly dreadful few years for Scottish Labour.

Watching the results come in online was a strange experience, with none of the razzmatazz that these occasions normally attract due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The scale of Starmer’s victory was noteworthy, however, underlining the depth of his support in all sections of the Labour movement.

A millstone has been lifted from our necks.

With Jackie Baillie also winning the deputy leadership of Scottish Labour, it means Richard Leonard will now have to moderate his style.

He has been guilty of dwelling too much in Labour’s historical mission without addressing the needs and aspirations of the electorate.

There will come a time when he has to get on the front foot. I’m confident Keir and his team will give him every resource available to do just that.

Scottish Labour needs to be fighting fit and will need answers on the constitution, not a half-in, half-out approach.

Voters on the doorstep might have liked the sound of Labour’s policies at the last election but they just didn’t see Corbyn as prime minister. Nor Ed Miliband before him to be fair.

People want to be able to vote for someone who looks and sounds like a prime minister and at the very least we owe them that.

In Starmer we have a man with an eye for detail, well able to cut through the Conservative bluster.

He will make a positive contribution in the effort to defeat the coronavirus through constructive opposition and people will start to notice.

And though we know the challenge is great, we at last have a serious contender to lead us forward again.

Jamie Glackin is a former chairman of the Scottish Labour Party.

Jamie Glackin.