Dugdale’s resignation is a step backwards for Labour and women in politics

Are the reasons given by Kezia Dugdale for stepping down as Scottish Labour leader credible? Tom Peterkin certainly tried to balance her life ambitions and political constraints as a plausible account of her rationale for triggering yet another leadership election contest (Perspective, 31 August).

Yet it is only right to look below the surface to get at the truth. In the recent visit of Jeremy Corbyn north of the Border she was clearly sidelined. It made a mockery of the attempts in recent years to stress the autonomy of Labour in Scotland. Party activists were much more enthused, clearly, by the new Corbyn image and agenda than they would ever be by the halfhearted commitment to federalism and opposition tactics in the Holyrood parliament. It is ironic that nearly three years ago Johann Lamont resigned partly because she could no longer stand the way Scottish Labour was treated like a “branch office” by Labour in London. Now it appears that the Scottish party is to be sustained by the Corbyn surge from the centre, making the role of Scottish leader superfluous.

The resignation can be seen, too, as a setback for women in politics. Labour has never had a woman as leader at United Kingdom level. Unlike her two predecessors as women leaders in Scotland, Ms Dugdale has tried to leave the post with some dignity. But two years is hardly enough to allow her mettle to be fully tested, despite the abundance of polls since she took over.

Often she did not gain the public support from her deputy, Alex Rowley, that she might have expected. The residual tribalism in Scottish politics may well have helped undermine her after she disclosed her relationship with SNP MSP Jenny Gilruth. It is likely that her career in politics is now over as it is very difficult for former leaders to assert themselves on the backbenches. Her departure is another setback for Scottish Labour’s attempt to reassert itself as a credible force.

BOB TAYLOR Shiel Court, Glenrothes

As editor of the Scottish Left Review magazine, I was rather surprised to read that the magazine has been attributed a rather pernicious role in influencing the decision of Kezia Dugdale to stand down as leader of the Scottish Labour Party (“Kezia Dugdale ‘hunted’ by party’s left, says Labour insider”, 31 August). According to a senior Labour insider: “There was an element who harried and hassled her, around the Scottish Left Review in particular.”

It is certainly true that the editorials of the magazine, for which I am responsible, have called for Kezia Dugdale to be removed from her position as leader of the Scottish Labour Party. This would be through the democratic means of a leadership challenge, in which a left wing candidate would hopefully win. Formulating and articulating political demands for the left in Scotland does not amount to “hounding” or “hunting”. It is part of a spirited form of political exchange.

But there is another reason for my surprise. Scottish Left Review, since its foundation by Jimmy Reid in 2000, has remained a vehicle for all shades of left opinion and thought in Scotland. Its editorial committee is comprised of those on the left from different political parties (Labour, SNP, SSP etc) and from no political party. The editorials are in keeping with this, making criticisms of both Labour and SNP from a radical left perspective as even a cursory glance back will show. These are available free on the magazine’s website: www.scottishleftreview.org

(PROF) GREGOR GALL Editor, Scottish Left Review