Dugdale quits party politics
● Former leader to join John Smith Centre for Public Service as director
Former Scottish Labour Party leader Kezia Dugdale has confirmed rumours she is quitting Holyrood after eight years as an MSP. She will become director of the John Smith Centre for Public Service at Glasgow University.
The former leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Kezia Dugdale, is set to leave Holyrood in the summer, ending her eightyear career as an MSP.
The 37-year-old is quitting frontline politics to take up a new post as director of the John Smith Centre for Public Service at Glasgow University.
There had been speculation since she resigned as leader of the party in 2017 that she would leave the Scottish Parliament before the next elections in 2021.
Yesterday the Lothians MSP confirmed she would leave in July to join the think-tank, and said while it had been an “honour” to be an elected politician her “next task is rebuild faith in our politics”.
Ms Dugdale also revealed she had been headhunted for the role – which will see her paid between £51,000 and £63,000 – in February and that she did not wholly rule out a return to party politics. “Never say never,” she said.
She added: “I wasn’t looking to leave. I’ve been asked that question time and again. I love being an MSP and it will be hard to leave but the opportunity came up and I couldn’t let it pass me by.
“I have devoted my working life to public service, and this is an incredibly exciting new opportunity for me to lead the work of the John Smith Centre.
“Throughout my career I have taken on tough and challenging tasks, and my next task is to rebuild faith in our politics.” Responding to the announcement, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter: “I wish @kezdugdale the very best for the future. As political opponents, she and I have had our fair share of clashes over the years, but I think she is a big loss to @scottishlabour and to @Scotparl. I hope she enjoys her new challenge.”
Yesterday her replacement as Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, said: “Kezia will be a loss to the Scottish Labour Party but I am sure she will still play a valuable role in public life going forward.
“Kezia stepped forward at a difficult time for the Scottish Labour Party and on many issues – from arguing to use the tax and social security powers of Holyrood to making the case for federalism – she helped the party rebuild after the devastating losses of the 2015 general election.
“On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party I thank Kezia for her service and wish her well in the next exciting chapter of her life.”
The John Smith Centre for Public Service was established in 2014 and is named in memory of the former leader of the UK Labour Party who was an alumnus of Glasgow University. Its board includes current and former politicians including Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, the former Labour MP Ed Balls and the former SNP MSP Andrew Wilson.
Ms Dugdale’s role will also see her teaching at the university’s school of politics. She said: “What I’m taking to the John Smith Centre is 12 years of working in this building [Holyrood], eight years an elected politician, with four elections as leader and a referendum, so a lot of very practical experience of frontline politics.
“I’ve also seen at first hand some of the challenges facing politics, the growth of identity-led politics, more emotional politics, more questioning of fact and rational evidence-based thinking which I find worrying. Some of these big global challenges the John Smith Centre will work through to navigate to restore faith in democracy because that’s our one great hope.
“John Smith said ‘the opportunity to serve our country – that is all we ask’. It will be an honour to build on his legacy and inspire his values of public service in a new generation.”
Reiterating her support for Europe and the UK Union, she said she had not been concerned about missing out on a list position at the next election and said there was no book deal in the pipeline.
Catherine Smith, chairwoman of the Centre and daughter of John Smith, said: “We are absolutely delighted that someone of Kezia’s calibre will be joining us as the first fulltime director.”
There will be no by-election as the position falls open to the next person on that list, which is Sarah Boyack, previously MSP for Edinburgh Central and now head of public affairs with the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations. She did not comment yesterday.