THE three contenders to take over as Scottish Labour leader have laid out their stalls, variously pledging to distance themselves from the UK party, push for more powers to be devolved to Scotland, run a united party for “Unionist and independence-supporting alike”, and taking broadsides at former group leader Anas Sarwar.
Michael Marra, Monica Lennon, and Joe Fagan have all thrown their hats into the ring to replace Sarwar, who has plunged his Scottish Labour group into chaos after reneging on pledges not to resign and not to join the House of Lords in order to become a UK Government minister.
All three of the leadership contenders penned pitches to Scottish Labour members in the Scotsman on Sunday. Here is what we learned.
Monica Lennon
Seen as the left-wing challenger for the leadership, and reportedly facing difficulties getting on the ballot due a requirement for the backing of three other MSPs, Monica Lennon used her pitch to promise to run a “big-tent party” representing a “broad coalition – urban and rural, young and old, Unionist and independence-supporting alike”.
Lennon further called for Scottish Labour to become further removed from their UK bosses, writing: “With Keir Starmer gone, our members have some hope again. Many of us understand too that the relationship between Scottish Labour and the UK party simply isn’t working and must change.
“Just as we want a devolution revolution that puts wealth and power into local places, the project of party autonomy in Scotland must be completed.”
The comments come despite Lennon insisting just six days ago that she was not advocating for a split between the Scottish and UK Labour parties. "This isn’t about walking away or setting up a breakaway party. I’m not a candidate who is proposing that,” she told The Daily Record.
Lennon also said that the “factional infighting” in Scottish Labour “must end”, and appeared to take a swipe at how the party was run under Sarwar. “Insiders who value personal loyalties over progressive action have often underestimated their colleagues,” she wrote. “I’ve felt that too.”
Joe Fagan
A surprise contender, Fagan was not spoken about as a potential Scottish Labour leader until he announced his candidacy – reportedly with the support of party grandee Jackie Baillie.
Fagan used his pitch to say that he would run the party in a different way, and took a broadside at Sarwar’s decision to leave Holyrood and take a life peerage in the Lords.
“This leadership contest cannot become another conversation inside the Holyrood bubble, about the Holyrood bubble, for the benefit of the Holyrood bubble. It cannot just be about internal structures, parliamentary arithmetic or who is best placed to stop someone else,” Fagan wrote.
“Let me be plain about myself. I am in this for Scotland and nowhere else. I am not building the kind of career that ends in ermine. You will never see my name on a list for the House of Lords. I want to serve the country I am from.”
Fagan also appeared to say that he would support calls for more powers to be devolved to Scotland, writing: “Power should sit as close as possible to the people it affects. That means a stronger Scotland in a changing UK.”
However, he also argued for further devolution of powers from Holyrood to local authorities, adding: “Edinburgh has learned too many of London’s habits: holding power at the centre, handing local services less, then blaming them when the job cannot be done.”
Michael Marra
A close ally of Sarwar, Marra is seen both as the favourite and the continuity candidate.
In his pitch, Marra looked to deflect any blame for the record-low Scottish parliament election result which Labour suffered in May while running on a manifesto which he authored.
“The reality is that for six Scottish Parliament elections in a row now our party has gone backwards and that should be telling every single person who cares about what the Scottish Labour Party stands for something very important,” he wrote. “If anyone thinks this is about one bad result they are badly wrong.”
Unlike his colleagues, Marra also wrote to defend Sarwar’s leadership, saying: “What Scottish Labour has done very well in the last five years is scrutinise the actions of the SNP Government. We rightly pointed out time and time again that, as a party that was approaching two decades in power, the SNP should have done so much more.”
He further said he wanted Scottish Labour’s goals to “become obvious and unmistakable”, but stopped short of explaining what his goals would be beyond broad-brush statements.
“For me politics is about improving people’s lives: creating better jobs, strengthening public services, expanding opportunities for young people and rebuilding trust among people who feel politics has stopped listening to them,” he said.
