Leadership hopeful condemns ‘coup’

It would have been a “disaster” for the Labour Party if Jeremy Corbyn had been ousted as leader last year, one of the candidates for the party’s top job in Scotland has said.

Richard Leonard, who is standing against Anas Sarwar for the Scottish Labour leadership, said Mr Corbyn deserved credit for making the party “bigger than ever”.

The MSP for Central Scotland is one of Mr Corbyn’s closest allies in the Scottish Parliament and is hoping to emulate his leadership campaign despite a relatively low profile.

In a statement to mark two years since Mr Corbyn was elected Labour leader, Mr Leonard said he had “revitalised the party and energised young people”.

He said: “Last year, when times were tougher, many called on Jeremy to quit but I was proud to be one of those who stood by him and backed his leadership.”