Boyack: Surprise contender with ‘unfinished business’

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FORMER transport minister Sarah Boyack was a surprise contender when she became the first to announce her candidacy earlier this week.

The 53-year-old Lothian MSP led an internal review of the party’s structures in Scotland after the 2011 election disaster which saw the SNP romp to a Holyrood landslide.This was supposed to establish a Scottish leader of the party, in charge of all MPs, MSPs and MEPs north

“She survived an SNP-inspired vote of no confidence in 2001”

of the Border. Ms Boyack has now described this work as “unfinished business” following the manner of Johann Lamont’s controversial departure.

She is currently Labour’s local government spokesman at Holyrood and served as transport and environment minister in the first Labour-led Scottish Executive, helping to create Scotland’s first national parks.

She survived an SNPinspired vote of no confidence in 2001 over her decision to award trunk road maintenance contracts to private companies.

The decision was also opposed by some of her Labour colleagues but Ms Boyack said she had no choice but to accept the private bids, which were £200m cheaper than the local authority tenders.

But she was one of five Executive ministers who were axed in a notorious cabinet reshuffle when Jack McConnell took over as Labour First Minister in late 2001.