Scottish Labour leadership election.
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Author Topic: Scottish Labour leadership election.  (Read 2096 times)
afleitch
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« on: May 16, 2015, 03:19:54 PM »



Who can step into Donald Dewar's (and Henry McLeish, Jack McConnell, Wendy Alexander, Iain Gray, Johann Lamont, Jim Murphy's) shoes?

There are no declared candidates yet, but the PLP is now dominated by the MSP's and affiliate favourite Neil Findlay sounds like he might be in with a good chance if he runs.
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Phony Moderate
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« Reply #1 on: May 16, 2015, 04:56:01 PM »

Jack McConnell isn't too old...
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BaconBacon96
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« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2015, 05:55:30 PM »

I thought Murphy was going to stay on?
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International Brotherhood of Bernard
interstate73
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« Reply #3 on: May 16, 2015, 05:59:03 PM »

I thought Murphy was going to stay on?
He pulled a "reverse Farage" as another poster put it on another thread, he initially said he would stay on, survived a confidence motion (narrowly), and then resigned anyway.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2015, 07:59:44 PM »

Some articles that Findlay has written indicate that he might be able to articulate the socialist case for maintaining the Union in an articulate manner.
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minionofmidas
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« Reply #5 on: May 17, 2015, 03:25:36 AM »

Some articles that Findlay has written indicate that he might be able to articulate the socialist case for maintaining the Union in an articulate manner.
That won't actually help. What Scottish Labour need to do is to dispel the notion that they are a Unionist Party (or that anyone not in favor of outright independence is a "Unionist".)

A small contingent of MPs verbally somewhat open to the notion of Independence would probably have done wonders in preventing the cataclysm of 2015.
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afleitch
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« Reply #6 on: May 17, 2015, 08:56:05 AM »
« Edited: May 17, 2015, 09:01:23 AM by afleitch »

A small contingent of MPs verbally somewhat open to the notion of Independence would probably have done wonders in preventing the cataclysm of 2015.

That's the key point of the past twelve months if there ever was one. Was Labour really telling the public that despite the fact that anything from 20-35% of their own voters voted 'Yes' that not one sitting MP, MSP or even councillor of note were with them? Not one? Even during the old devolution campaigns you could identify Labourites of note who were against or not particularly warm to the idea of devolution as it waxed and waned as Labour's official policy. And that, even with Labour's extreme centralising tendencies, was okay.

The referendum campaign elevated Labour in Scotland for the first time into a publicly 'Unionist' party despite never being that (and to it's credit, Labour helped keep a lid on potential Ulster style schisms over the past 100 years appealing to the Labour movement which did transcend religious divisions) and essentially 'holed' itself amongst it's core west central Scotland 'Catholic' vote (which it got 50+% of even in 2007) The 'biggest of the big' swings against Labour were in these seats; West Dumbartonshire, Glasgow NE and SW, Coatbridge, Motherwell etc.

If Scottish politics re-orientates itself along civic (rather than religious) Nationalist/Unionist lines, then Labour are going to struggle because it has to pick one of those faces after loosing it's core constituency and mindful that it needs to get them back.

The fact that Scottish Labour's new 'heartlands' are Morningside not Leith and Newton Mearns not Barrhead is damning.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #7 on: May 17, 2015, 10:31:21 AM »

What Scottish Labour need to do is to dispel the notion that they are a Unionist Party (or that anyone not in favor of outright independence is a "Unionist".)

Yes, this is true. The word and its associations are toxic.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #8 on: May 17, 2015, 11:09:26 AM »

Findlay isn't running.

---

One of the more dispiriting aspects of the last leadership contest was the way that it turned into the usual factional pissing contest (Scottish Labour being even more prone to that than Labour elsewhere). I note that Murphy even bowed out on that note (classy).
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Torie
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« Reply #9 on: May 17, 2015, 11:21:49 AM »
« Edited: May 17, 2015, 12:05:05 PM by Torie »

The trade union leader threatens Labour with a funding cutoff if they don't pick a leader that suits him. For the sake of speculation, and putting aside whether or not the threat is real, as opposed to posturing for influence, if such a TUC funding cutoff of Labour ensued, would that be a good thing or a bad thing for Labour's electoral prospects? Obviously the funding cut off would not help Labour in and of itself, but just how much, if any, is the real or perceived TUC power over Labour costing it votes, if any?
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« Reply #10 on: May 17, 2015, 11:40:36 AM »

The trade union leader threatens Labour with a funding cutoff if they don't pick a leader that suits him. For the sake of speculation, and putting aside whether or not the threat is real, as opposed to posturing for influence, such a TUC funding cutoff of Labour ensued, would that be a good thing or a bad thing for Labour's electoral prospects? Obviously the funding cut off would not help Labour in and of itself, but just how much, if any, is the real or perceived TUC power over Labour costing it votes, if any?

A bad thing. A very bad thing.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #11 on: May 17, 2015, 11:54:40 AM »

It isn't a serious threat and shouldn't be treated as one (in this case it is a not particularly subtle way of saying that Kendall or Hunt should not be elected as leader), it isn't the TUC (which is a confederation of unions) but the Unite Union (an amalgamation of the old Transport & General Workers Union and the various former engineering and technical unions that made up Amicus), and were it to happen (which it won't) it would obviously be very bad news for Labour as Unite is not just a major donor, but is a major source of local activists and also has a huge presence on various internal Party committees (including the NEC).
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afleitch
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« Reply #12 on: May 17, 2015, 12:03:51 PM »

I note that Murphy even bowed out on that note (classy).

The Herald gave a rundown of what actually happened

He won 17-14. He voted for himself. Under the rules the SEC should include two Labour MP's but there was only one. Harriet Harman sent a letter saying the spot would be taken by life peer Meta Ramsay, a friend of Murphy's who voted for him.

At the meeting, a letter signed by 10 MSPs was handed to the SEC which called on Murphy to quit.

The ten were: Claudia Beamish; Duncan McNeil; Elaine Smith; Margaret McCulloch; Margaret McDougall; Neil Findlay; Cara Hilton; Jayne Baxter; Rhoda Grant; and Alex Rowley.

'After the vote, Murphy failed to tell fellow SEC members that he was planning to announce his resignation at a press conference...Murphy and his allies had spent the previous week trying to shore up support amongst different elements in the party.'

---

Boyack might be a good interim.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #13 on: May 23, 2015, 06:58:57 PM »

It looks like a contest between Kezia Dugdale (Deputy Leader and so currently also the acting Leader) and Ken Macintosh (ran unsuccessfully for Leader in 2011) with Dugdale the overwhelming favourite.
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Clyde1998
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« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2015, 11:04:02 AM »

It looks like a contest between Kezia Dugdale (Deputy Leader and so currently also the acting Leader) and Ken Macintosh (ran unsuccessfully for Leader in 2011) with Dugdale the overwhelming favourite.
But without Jim Murphy - who's going to tell Dugdale what rubbish to say?

As an SNP supporter, I hope Dugdale wins the leadership contest.
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afleitch
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« Reply #15 on: May 26, 2015, 12:36:03 PM »

I think Kezia Dugdale's endorsements are the kiss of death to be honest and deliberate too. She's got less than a year before the elections and if the result is anything close to 2011 again, she'll be gone in a year.

This shortsightedness is problematic; Labour can't afford to perpetually concentrate on 'the election after next' because it is genuinely fighting for survival. The Tories won't be so tepid in 2016; they have the chance to articulate a better case for Unionism than Labour.
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