Macintosh pledges ‘radical new direction’ if elected leader

Ken Macintosh launched his bid to become the new leader of Scottish Labour with a promise to change the way the party operates entirely.

The MSP said he would move Scottish Labour’s headquarters from Glasgow to Edinburgh as part of a “radical new direction of travel”.

If elected to the top job, he pledged he would be “less aggressive and adversarial”, and would instead be “more collaborative and cooperative”.

Mr Macintosh formally launched his leadership bid in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, telling party members: “I want to make it quite clear – I see myself as the change candidate.

“Yes, we could manage the situation we are in. We could lurch from election to election as we have done in the past. But I want to change the whole way the Labour Party operates.”

While he said he wanted the party to remain part of UK Labour, he also stressed that control would rest with members north of the border.

If elected leader, he said he would “begin discussions immediately with Labour colleagues at a UK level to redefine and formalise our relationship”.

Ken Macintosh is promising to change Scottish Labour.