Union organiser from a private school seen as candidate for the left

Profile Richard Leonard

Richard Leonard, who confirmed yesterday that he will stand for the Scottish Labour leadership, was elected as a list MSP for Central Scotland only last year.

But he is now seen as the preferred candidate for the influx of new members brought to Labour by Jeremy Corbyn.

Mr Leonard attended the independent Pocklington School in Yorkshire, and the University of Stirling, where he studied economics.

He has been a GMB union organiser for the past two decades, and was previously head of economics at the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

He has also worked as a researcher for the Labour MEP for Mid-scotland and Fife, Alex Falconer and held the economy brief for Labour at Holyrood for the past year.

Focusing on redistribution of wealth but avoided mentioning Mr Corbyn by name, he told Labour supporters yesterday: “Too many of our young people are in precarious jobs, too many of our older people live in fuel poverty.

“Inequality is rising so that in Scotland today, the richest one per cent own as much wealth as all of the poorest 50 per cent.

“Our NHS is facing cuts and staff shortages. Education, care and other public service workers are paying the price for a crisis they did not create.”