Leonard defies calls for him to resign

Richard Leonard has ruled out a leadership contest to silence doubters in Scottish Labour, claiming a group of MSPS never accepted him in the top job.

Mr Leonard said he has received “hundreds of messages of support” but shut down talk of taking on a challenger from within the party.

Asked if he would consider putting the decision in the hands of members, Mr Leonard said: “I really don’t think that’s necessary.

“There’s a group within the parliamentary group in Holyrood who have never really accepted the decision of the party membership in 2017 to elect me as the Scottish Labour Party leader.

“I’ve always had to try to face down some of that opposition within the Labour group, but what I take heart from is the extent to which the party membership, those people who elected me to lead Scottish Labour, are voicing their support for me and are demanding I do lead the Scottish Labour Party into next year’s elections.”

Pressed on the issue of a leadership election, Mr Leonard said the party’s attention should not be focused inward with an election due in eight months.

He said: “If the Labour Party was convulsed into an internal leadership battle, that would take two to three months to get through, it just doesn’t make any sense for the Labour Party, even if I thought it would reassert my authority as the leader.”

Mr Leonard’s comments come the day after four of his MSPS – James Kelly, Jenny Marra, Daniel Johnson and Mark Griffin – called for his resignation.

Mr Leonard, who became Scottish Labour leader in 2017, branded them “disgruntled”.

Scottish Labour currently lie third in the opinion polls north of the border, well behind Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP.

Richard Leonard MSP.