Crushed at poll ...but Dugdale refuses to quit
A DEFIANT Kezia Dugdale yesterday vowed to remain as Scottish Labour leader, despite leading her party to its worst result for more than a century.
Senior figures, fearful of another bruising leadership contest, rallied around the MSP who failed to win the Edinburgh Eastern seat she was contesting and had to be rescued by the regional list,
But there is widespread anger in the party over the failure to focus on the threat to the Union during the campaign, and the lurch to the Left with policies such as a 1p tax hike and opposition to Trident renewal.
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray also admitted that Labour does not look like a government-in-waiting under Jeremy Corbyn’s UK leadership.
Labour finished third with 24 seats – down 13 from 2011 to its worst ever result in the Scottish parliament vote – which means it was overtaken by the Scottish Conservatives, who become the main opposition with 31 MSPs. Labour won 22.6 per cent of the vote share in constituencies, down 9.2 percentage points, and 19.1 per cent on the regional list – down 7.2 points.
The last time Labour came third in a Scottish election was in 1910, only nine years after Queen Victoria died and before women were allowed to vote.
The party won three constituency seats – all by candidates who are on the moderate wing of Scottish Labour.
Former leader Iain Gray held on in East Lothian, as did veteran Jackie Baillie in Dumbarton, who dared to speak out against the party’s opposition to Trident. In Edinburgh Southern there was a remarkable gain from the SNP, with Daniel Johnson emerging victorious after running a local campaign that focused on opposition to a second independence referendum.
In contrast, Left-wing candidates were trounced across the country, with the party dramatically failing to win a single constituency seat in Glasgow, once a Labour stronghold.
In an email to members, Miss Dugdale Glum: Kezia Dugdale at count said the need for a party arguing for ‘using the power of government to invest in people’ is more important than ever. She wrote: ‘We could have fought an election that was about the arguments of two years ago but we chose to stand up for what we believe in.
‘We will keep standing for our belief that we can choose to be better than this. Despite the disappointment of the final results, hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens stood with us. I’ll keep fighting for our values.’
Labour figures from both the Left and the centre of the party rallied round Miss Dugdale, elected leader last year when Jim Murphy resigned following the General Election rout.
She is therefore expected to remain in place, although she will be second in the pecking order at First Minister’s Questions and faces bruising local government elections one year from now. The party still holds its fiefdoms of Glasgow, North and South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire, but they will all be vulnerable to the SNP. Former MPs Gemma Doyle and Thomas Docherty both criticised the Labour Party’s manifesto, while Mr Murray said: ‘The thing was we misjudged how much the referendum would play into this election campaign.
‘The public don’t see the Labour Party as being a credible party of government in 2020 and it’s up to Jeremy and his team to do something about it.’
Mr Corbyn said: ‘We are going to walk hand in hand with our party in Scotland to build support once again so the Labour tradition in Scotland will be re-established.’
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis issued a warning to critics of Mr Corbyn. He said: ‘This has been a tough night for Labour, especially in Scotland. Labour has to get back to focusing on the issues that matter to working people, and on getting rid of this government at the next general election.
‘Public sector workers aren’t interested in Labour politicians bickering in TV studios or in those who think politics is a game. The baying hounds from across the party must now back off.’
Mr Docherty, who failed in his bid to become an MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said: ‘If the 1983 manifesto [under Michael Foot] was dubbed the “longest suicide note in history”, then Labour’s manifesto electorally was self-immolation for dummies.’
He added: ‘It’s a combination of three factors: Jeremy Corbyn has not played well in Scotland; the penny on income tax; and the Left-wing tenor of the campaign and the party, such as Trident.’
Speaking after watching Labour’s vote crumble across Scotland, Miss Dugdale said she was ‘heartbroken, without question’ at finishing third behind the Tories but insisted she would remain as leader.
‘We always knew last night’s election would be hard for us but that doesn’t make it any easier this morning, especially when so many members and supporters gave so much time and effort. But our campaign continues,’ she wrote in her email.
‘Listening to our opponents on TV last night it’s clear they want us to give up. We won’t. Why? Because we believe in something.
‘We fought for what we believe in at this election – for using the power of government to invest in people.
‘That is an idea that has been at the root of progress in this country for a century. After this result, and the election campaign of the last few weeks, it’s clearer than ever that if we don’t stand for this then no one will.
‘I hope this result will act as a rallying call for everyone who shares our values to join us. Let’s ask those people to be part of our movement.’