Plan to bring fresh blood into Labour party at Holyrood
LEFT- WING supporters of Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard want him to back sweeping changes to candidate selection procedures in a bid to get fresh blood into his MSP group.
Ideas being mulled over include giving trades union supporters a vote in internal regional List contests and allowing the leader to pick some of the candidates ahead of the next Holyrood election.
Leonard became Scottish Labour leader last year after defeating centrist Anas Sarwar, but he has struggled to unite his divided group of MSPs.
Although he won the contest comfortably, a majority of MSPs voted for Sarwar and Leonard has faced various challenges to his authority.
He eventually sacked Sarwar and senior MSP Jackie Baillie from his shadow cabinet this month amid claims they had undermined him.
Backers of Leonard believe the MSP group will continue to be fractious unless a new crop of parliamentarians are elected in 2021. Only two Labour members represent first-past-the-post constituencies at Holyrood, with the other 21 MSPs being on the regional Lists.
In internal selections for Holyrood, Labour members are balloted and determine which candidates get a favourable slot on each List.
Although the membership is believed to be more left-wing than it was when the 2016 List ranking process took place, allies of Leonard told this newspaper that they believe bolder reforms are required to guarantee personnel changes in the MSP group.
One possible change would be to widen the franchise for the List rankings so that trades union supporters could also vote in the internal ballot.
Around 10,500 supporters from affiliated trades unions signed up to vote in last year’s leadership contest, the overwhelming majority of which backed Leonard. It is believed that over 80 per cent of the recruits were members of the Len McCluskey-led Unite union, which supports Leonard and Jeremy Corbyn.
A second suggestion for reform is to dust down an idea floated when Kezia Dugdale led the party.
Under this plan, which was abandoned due to a lack of support, members would rank some of the candidates on each regional List, with the leader picking others.
One party source said: “Scottish Labour must field the best possible team as we approach the next election in 2021. The status quo, where sitting MSPs are virtually guaranteed a winnable list place based on name recognition alone, can’t continue.
“Richard Leonard must work with Labour affiliates to reach agreement on a formula which showcases the best talent in our party and delivers a united and disciplined group. This will inevitably mean that some existing MSPs will have to make way for new faces.”
However, a source on the moderate wing of the party said: “The leadership contest descended into farce when trades union members who openly opposed Labour were given a vote. This idea is simply a tactic to ensure Len McCluskey can tighten his grip on Labour. Members will be absolutely Herald on Sunday Letters
200 Renfield St Glasgow G2 3QB Twitter: @heraldscotland Web: herald scotland.com furious if hard-working MSPs are deselected by people with no affiliation to the Labour Party and are replaced with Corbyn cultists.
“The purge of the moderates looks set to continue, which will move Scottish Labour even further away from power.”
Former MP Ian Davidson, who supports Leonard, said Scottish Labour should not become as “sectarian as the Blairites” by embarking on a purge, but said: “The present group of Labour MSPs are unrepresentative of the Labour Party in Scotland and many have chosen not to adapt to the changed political climate.
“Many within it [the Group] have become too engrossed in internal rows and ignore why they were selected.
Richard Leonard must work with Labour affiliates to reach agreement on a formula which showcases the best talent in our party and delivers a united and disciplined group. This will mean that some existing MSPs will have to make way for new faces