Leonard: Labour will crack down on racism
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has said racism must be driven out of public life and his party just days after one of his councillors was suspended for making bigoted remarks.
Jim Dempster, of Dumfries and Galloway, admitted telling Scottish Government officials that Transport Minsiter Humza Yousaf may have visited the area “but no one would have seen him under his burka”.
Mr Yousaf said he was deeply shocked, rejected Mr Dempster’s apology and called for him to resign.
The Labour Party is holding an investigation and Mr Dempster has been suspended. Mr Leonard yesterday addressed the March Against Racism rally in Glasgow’s George Square alongside party colleague Anas Sarwar, SNP MP Alison Thewliss and others.
He said: “In the fight to rid our society of racism, we cannot be moderate, we cannot be patient, we need to be impatient and angry in our pursuit of justice and equality. And that applies inside the Labour Party just as much as in wider society.”
Davie Mclachlan, leader of the Labour group at South Lanarkshire Council, is also suspended for allegedly telling Mr Sarwar that “Scotland wouldn’t vote for a brown Muslim P***”.
Labour MP Hugh Gaffney has also been criticised for alleged slurs against the Chinese and LGBT communities.