Kezia a fine example of old Labour values
THE hate merchant who lost a defamation action against Kezia Dugdale has had enough free publicity.
So this column will have nothing further to say about the blogger from Bath known as Wings Over Scotland.
It is, however, worth reflecting on what the landmark court battle told us about the current state of the Scottish Labour Party. A quick recap is in order. When the action was launched in 2017, the Daily Record offered legal support to Dugdale, who was being sued over comments made as one of our columnists.
But Labour officials made it clear they felt the issue was too important to be left to a newspaper and they wanted to deal with it themselves.
This was all fine and good and Labour initially took on responsibility for the case - with notably unsuccessful results. The situation changed in September of last year when Dugdale was unexpectedly told the party was withdrawing all support.
It was a spiteful decision motivated by factional warfare within Labour rather than any legal or political principle.
It could have been financially ruinous for Dugdale, yet her desperate texts to Jeremy Corbyn on the matter were completely ignored.
Her successor as Scottish Labour leader, Richard Leonard, also did nothing.
Thankfully, the Daily Record’s legal team were able to take over the case and steer it to this week’s victory. But guess what Leonard had to say about the judgment on Wednesday?
“This is an important win for Kezia and for free speech,” he said. “She stood up to bullying and won.”
Leonard’s right about one thing – Kezia did stand up to bullying and win. But not before the Labour Party – the supposed party of solidarity and equality– had hung her out to dry.
Leonard is a decent man and must feel pretty ashamed about the whole sorry saga.
But the episode has shown he is either unable or unwilling to stand up for what’s right against the zealots currently running UK Labour.
That’s a major problem for his leadership.