A Labour veteran has said Richard Leonard would be putting his party first if he stood down as Scottish leader.
Lord Foulkes said Scottish Labour needed “credible leadership” to take on the SNP but claimed Leonard was not breaking through with voters.
He added that deputy Jackie Baillie could take over on an acting basis for the Holyrood election.
Keir Starmer has seen his personal poll ratings soar since becoming UK Labour leader earlier this year.
However Leonard, a left winger who has been in post for nearly three years, has presided over a set of poor election results.
On his watch, Labour slumped to fifth place at the European election and fell from seven seats to one at the general election.
At the weekend, former Prime Minister Tony Blair pointedly drew a contrast between the revival under Starmer and the Labour opposition at Holyrood.
Foulkes, a former Labour MP and MSP, said the SNP had a poor record on public services which could be exploited, but he warned: “It needs a credible leadership and campaign to take advantage of that.”
Asked if Leonard was the best person to lead Labour into next year’s Holyrood election, he said: “He has to make that decision. He has to put the interests of the Labour party in Scotland ahead of his own personal interests.
“He needs to make a judgement about whether he thinks he can take advantage of this opportunity. Time is running out.”
On whether standing down would be putting the party first, Foulkes said: “Yes.”
“He doesn’t seem to like it [the job] and he doesn’t seem to break through”.
The peer added: “The truth is Jackie is there, if necessary, to take over as acting leader, and she would do the job.
“He [Leonard] needs to think of what is best for the party in terms of the Holyrood elections. Tony Blair has sent a coded message to him and he needs to think carefully about it.”
Party insiders believe there is no appetite for a leadership contest and some would instead prefer Leonard to stand down.
When Leonard took charge in 2017, he became the ninth Labour leader since the beginning of the Scottish Parliament.
A recent opinion poll showed Labour on 15% of the vote for Holyrood, a significant fall from the 2016 election, which itself was a new low for the party.
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Scotland is being failed by two governments.
“Scottish Labour is the only party prioritising the push for jobs and a national care service as we build back from the pandemic.
“Next year’s election is a chance to get people’s priorities back into Parliament and that’s what we are focused on.”
