It’s back to the drawing board for Labour. Again

WITH delicious irony, the microphone is broken as a debate about why people are not listening to the Scottish Labour party gets under way.

Sadly for Kezia Dugdale, Sadiq Khan’s microphone was working just fine.

The Perth hotel meeting room is short on optimism and half empty (or, for the optimists, half full).

But what is in plentiful supply is brutal honesty.

Labour invented political selfflagellation and as their fortunes have dwindled, the “woe is us” whip has lengthened.

So has the party’s ability to shoot itself in the foot.

The London Mayor’s explosive intervention into Scottish Labour’s conference was no blunder.

Senior party figures had sight of Mr Khan’s speech 24 hours in advance and we’re happy enough to give the most incendiary comments to some of yesterday’s papers.

As Scotland’s third political force, Labour have to work a lot harder to get noticed and there are some in the party who have fallen behind the old maxim that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

But this page that you’re reading has a big picture of Nicola Sturgeon – Kezia Dugdale’s flagship speech has secondary billing.

There are plenty of Scots who will agree with Khan’s assessment of nationalism but the problem for Labour is they are already in the pro-Union bag.

How many former Labour voters who back independence will read Khan’s comments and think: “You know, I am a racist and I better stop this, back to Labour I go…”?

Back to the drawing board for Labour strategists. Again.