Carry on up the jungle!
Labour reeling as Kezia joins I’m a Celeb but pals say she’ll be a TV smash
Jeremy Corbyn relaxed but MSP faces calls for her immediate suspension
Surpr i se j ungle star Kezia Dugdale’s departure to join I’m a Celebrity in Australia stunned her Labour colleagues yesterday as leaders split over her fate.
Jeremy Corbyn played down calls for her to be suspended as the MSP prepares to miss up to three weeks at Holyrood to appear on the reality show.
However, her successor as Scottish leader, Richard Leonard, who was only elected yesterday, said all options would need to be discussed as some senior figures condemned her decision as an “outrage.”
Hours later UK Labour chief Mr Corbyn said it was “her choice” and said suspending her would not be appropriate.
Ms Dugdale’s decision has stunned the party, with one MSP describing it as an “April Fool in November”.
It is understood the Lothians MSP – who will donate her wages to charity for the time she is away from Holyrood – has been in talks about appearing on the series for nearly four weeks.
Sources close to the former leader said that earlier this month she approached both leadership candidates to see how they would feel about her skipping parliament for three weeks for a project that would raise some money for charity.
However, it is not thought Miss Dugdale explained this would involve travelling to Austrlia to appear on the long-running ITV programme.
Ms Dugdale last week approached Labour’s business manager James Kelly who is understood to have said he couldn’t give her permission as it would have to be decided by the new leader.
The Lothians MSP then took the plunge to go on the show before getting official party permission.
She will not appear when the show launches tonight but is expected to join up with her jungle campmates later.
When asked if Miss Dugdale – who is expected to fly to Australia within the next 48 hours – will be suspended, Mr Leonard yesterday said: “Well we will need to have a discussion as a group next week. I think we will arrive at a collective decision. There is no doubt that when I heard the news this morning and saw some of the social media comments coming in there was a big frenzy of reaction against it.
“But I think we will need to give it due consideration as a group over the course of the next few days.”
He added: “I was a bit disappointed but I think it is a decision the group is going to have to consider.”
But Mr Corbyn said: “It’s her choice to go on I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here!, I don’t think it’s appropriate to suspend someone from the party for doing that, that’s her choice.”
However, there has been harsh criticism of Ms Dugdale from some senior figures. Stephen Low, who was involved in Mr Leonard’s campaign and is a member of Labour’s national executive committee, described Miss Dugdale’s decision as an “outrage” and called for disciplinary measures to be considered for treating both party members and voters “with contempt”.
He said: “If this is as it appears, then it’s an outrage. She’s
treating the voters, the electorate and the party with contempt. If she’s cleared this with the business manager then the business manager should be getting his jotters. “And whether she did or did not, the party should be taking disciplinary action against her.”
It is not known how much Ms Dugdale will be paid for appearing on the show. Nadine Dorries, the English MP who was suspended from the Conservatives for her stint in the show in 2012, pocketed £20,228 in fees despite being eliminated after 12 days. She was the first contestant to be voted off the programme.
Some of the most famous celebrities to appear on the reality show have earned more than 10 times Dorries’ fee, with Katie Price reportedly being the highest earner at £ 400,000. Carol Vorderman is thought to have bagged £ 200,000 from her performance in last year’s series and was that year’s largest earner, according to leaked documents. Sources close to Ms Dugdale say her earnings will be at the lower end of the scale.
Her decison to sign- up emerged on Friday night and has reignited the debate over MSPs’ priorities.
When Tory MP Douglas Ross missed a Commons vote to run the line at a Champions League game, Labour branded the move “completely unacceptable”.
Defeated leadership contestant Anas Sarwar said taking part in the programme was “not a decision I would have made”.
He added: “She’s made the decision she had. I would prefer that she was in the Parliament working for her constituents, working for the Labour Party.
“I want us focusing on education, the NHS, and employability, rather than kangaroo testicles.”
Mr Sarwar said he would be against suspending Ms Dugdale.
Former Labour MSP Malcolm Chisholm, said the outrage over her TV show stint was “a bit over the top.” He tweeted: “Always an extremely diligent constituency MSP and a couple of weeks in Australia is not going to change that. Good luck!”
Former First Minister Jack McConnell agreed but Jenny Marra, a Labour MSP for the North East, asked if the news was an “April fool in November”, and later said: “Election to parliament is a privilege to serve and represent people. “It’s not a shortcut to celebrity.” Ms Dugdale will join the likes of boxer Amir Khan, Boris Johnson’s dad Stanley and The Saturdays singer Vanessa White in the jungle.
The show gets under way tonight but Ms Dugdale is expected to arrive late in the jungle as a “surprise” addition to camp.
A source close to Ms Dugdale said the move was a “fantastic opportunity to speak about politics and Labour values on one of the most popular and watched TV shows in the UK.”
A spokesman for Mr Leonard said: “Kezia Dugdale did not inform Richard Leonard that she was going to be on I’m a Celebrity and if she had done so he would have made it crystal clear that it was the wrong thing to do.”