Leonard calls for unity after surviving no confidence bid

SCOTTISH Labour leader Richard Leonard has called for an “end to the internal plotting” in the party after a no-confidence vote in his leadership was withdrawn.

The Scottish Executive Committee (SEC) discussed the motion yesterday but it was pulled before a vote.

It came after several Scottish Labour MSPs, including Daniel Johnson and James Kelly, announced they no longer supported him.

Speaking after the executive committee meeting, Leonard said the party needs “unity not division”.

“It’s time for Scottish Labour to stand together and to stand with the Scottish people at a time when risks caused by the pandemic are rising again and when the economy is on the edge of a deep recession with jobs and livelihoods in peril,” he said.

“There must be an end to the internal plotting and we must unite to hold the Scottish Government to account and to offer a real alternative.”

He added: “I firmly believe that I am the best person to lead us into next year’s elections with a plan for jobs and real economic and social transformation which I know is shared by Keir Starmer.

“I have listened to the concerns expressed about me, I will treat those with respect and humility, and I will fight with every ounce of my being to improve the fortunes of the party in the run-up to next year’s election.

“We need unity not division.” The SEC is comprised of elected representatives, union officials and members.

Following the vote, Edinburgh councillor Scott Arthur, a member of the SEC, tweeted: “Richard Leonard has retained the support of the SEC and will take us into the Holyrood 2021 election.”

But the Scottish Conservatives were scathing over the decision.

MSP Jamie Greene said: “Scottish Labour used to stand up for the United Kingdom. Now they won’t even stand up to Richard Leonard.

“This is the weakest that the once-great Labour party have ever looked. Ex-Labour voters will be looking on in despair as their old party becomes a fringe group in Scottish politics.

“Labour’s distracted and divided politicians are tearing each other apart again, wasting all their time and energy fighting each other instead of fighting the SNP.

“Ex-Labour voters who believe in the United Kingdom know their party is a shadow of its former self. That’s why they’ve trusted the Scottish Conservatives to stand up to the SNP in election after election.”

The Scottish Greens also rounded on Scottish Labour, saying: “It’s so in character for Scottish Labour to squabble among themselves when the country faces the pandemic, a jobs crisis, people being evicted, and the urgent need for a fairer new green economy.

“Labour’s internal ploys may have saved Richard Leonard for now, but voters will know in May that many Labour candidates don’t think he’s up to running their party, let alone running Scotland.”

Opinion polls place Scottish Labour behind the SNP and Scottish Tories ahead of next year’s Holyrood election.