The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Former first minister: Labour must accept Scotland as challenge
Henry McLeish says independence more likely to come due to failings down south
Former first minister Henry McLeish has warned Labour to “stop saying no” to everything to avoid electoral oblivion.
Mr McLeish said Scottish independence is more likely to come about because of failings of the Union, than the “nationalism” of the separation movement.
Sir Keir Starmer has backed Scottish Labour’s decision to oppose a second referendum on independence, favouring a wider form of federalism is needed across the UK.
Mr McLeish said: “I think the new leader has got to accept that Scotland is a major challenge.
“When I was elected in ’87 to Westminster for the first time, there were 50 Labour MPs. In 2019 there is one.
“For a party that delivered devolution in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, we have simply lost traction in Scotland in the post-devolution period.
“We have certainly lost a grip on what it means to be a political party in Scotland. As a consequence, the SNP has risen and for the last 13 years have dominated politics.
“We’ve got to learn from history, we’ve got to learn from the last 13 years. We cannot continue to be so negative, saying no to everything. It’s not a vision, it’s not a strategy and it’s not a policy.
“We’ve got to acknowledge that politics in Scotland has changed around the issue of identity. It’s dramatically changed in relation to public perception of what Scotland needs.”
Mr McLeish, who has served as a Labour councillor in Fife, as well as MP and MSP, said the “settled will” of Scotland had yet to be decided, despite support for the SNP.
“There has been a massive transformation in the number of Labour-thinking people that have been willing to support independence.
“This is a new, more confident, more dynamic and positive-looking Scotland.
“Currently we believe we are so linked to London we can’t get our heads around the idea that Scotland is a completely different place with completely different politics.
“Scots have not warmed yet to the idea of independence. They may in the future, but not now. Labour must see that as an opportunity.”
In future polls, Mr McLeish said, Labour must “distance” itself from the
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Labour in Scotland has to change, it has to be more Scottish in its orientation and less unionist. HENRY MCLEISH
Conservatives, as aligning in 2014 had harmed the party electorally ever since.
“The Tory party are not thinking about anything other than a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland, which is not high up on any Scottish persons’ priorities.
“Labour in Scotland has to change, it has to be more Scottish in its orientation and less unionist.
“What it must do is create distance between the Conservative Party and itself, because that is not helpful to Labour’s fortunes.”
He added: “My fear is that Boris Johnson could prove a real drawback in trying to get the Union to move forward.
“I think he’s shown through the pandemic contempt to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland... because unionism is about centralism.
“For Labour to make progress in Scotland the union has to accept that it has to change.
“If you want an alternative to independence, it has to be some form of federalism but the really worrying thing is that the Union under Johnson and Westminster, don’t look like they’re talking about any other alternative and that leads them down the negative path of merely criticising independence and criticising holding a second referendum.”