Leonard turns on ‘despicable’ Labour rebels
● Rebel MSPS look at all options ● Leonard insists he won’t quit
Richard Leonard has told S cottish Labour party members they have “underestimated” him amid calls for him to step down.
As intra-party tensions mount, the Scottish Labour leader branded the prospect of a cour t challenge from rebel MSPS to force a leadership challenge as “despicable”.
Embattled S cottish Lab our leader Richard Leonard last issued a plea for unit y as he addressed the par t y’s MSPS amid calls for him to quit.
And he branded the prospect of a court challenge from rebel MSPS to force a leadership challenge as “despicable.”
Mr Leonard has faced to calls to go from MSPS Daniel Johnson, James Kelly, Jenny Marra and Mark Griffin amid concerns about plunging poll ratings ahead of next May’s Holyrood election.
But he insisted he is going nowhere and urged colleagues to focus on the issues. “The last thing the people who need a strong Labour Part y want is a Labour Party degenerating into internal strife,” Mr Leonard said in an address the to the Parliamentary party last night.
“We need to be out ward looking. There is nothing more certain in politics than that people do not vote for parties which are divided. Being elected as a Labour representative is an honour.
“People send us to Parli a - ment to represent them. To speak for them. To hold the Government to account. Not to turn in on ourselves.
“And months out from an election to hear MSPS threatening to take the party to court when we know that we are up and against it with the resources and cash of the SNP and the Tories I find astonishing, even despicable.”
Mr Johnson raised the prospect of a legal challenge yesterday as rebels seek clarification on the rules surrounding a leadership challenge. They say this can be triggered by a fifth of the party’ s MSPS demanding a contest - and say they have this. This is because the Scottish rules follow the precedent of the UK rule book.
Scottish Labour general secretary Michael Sharpe said he is “not aware of any such precedent on this issue” for the Scottish Party.
Mr Johnson branded that “absurd” yesterday.
“Even constituency party chairs have to submit themselves for re - election once a year,” he told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland show yesterday.
“The UK leader of the Labour part y may be challenged if a fifth of MPS submit ac hallenge, but apparently the Scottish Labour leader uniquely holds office without qualification, caveat or limitation, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
He also accused Leonard of trying to“hide behind the rulebook” to avoid a challenge. Asked if there might be a court challenge, Johnson said: “It is certainly challengeable and I think we need to look at all our options.”