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New Labour Leader in Scotland
BanglaRoad
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The Scottish Labour Party have a new leader, Kezia Dugdale. She got just over 72% of the vote.
Not sure if she is still backing Cooper in the UK Labour leadership contest and in all honestly Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP will be losing no sleep over the appointment of Deputy Dug as SLAB leader.
Not sure if she is still backing Cooper in the UK Labour leadership contest and in all honestly Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP will be losing no sleep over the appointment of Deputy Dug as SLAB leader.
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It's a winner for the SNP. Mind you any of them would have been a winner for the SNP.
If you had given the SNP a choice, asked them, "Who would you like as Labour leader in Scotland, your choice?", their answer would have been "Can we have Kezia Dugdale please".
I know! More hilarious FMQs to come I hope.
They should have voted Neil Findlay first time round.
Aye, but they are not so daft for the new deputy is Gordon Brown's best pal.
I wonder if the damage done by Murphy influenced Findlay's decision not to stand this time around, that and the limited influence he would have running a branch office anyway.
I must confess I have never heard of this woman, but the remarks in here don't hold out much hope for her. There was a guy on Radio 5 this morning [can't remember his name] and he was saying that if the main Labour party does not take on board the idea of a 'separate' Labour party for Scotland in the very near future, they face total annihilation up there.
He was their only hope of getting any voters back.
Well not really as the other two are just Branch Offices.
Kezia doesn't want a seperate party so total annihilation is their future.
Am I hearing right that Ruthin is running out of Glasgow for the election? Reckon she,'s jittery?
Yep, going to stand in Edinburgh. Wonder why?
Dugdale always sounds like she's trying to break the world record for words spoken in a minute, I think if you're English you'd struggle to keep up with her.
Thus far she appears to be against a separate Scottish Labour party although she did not agree with her parties recent abstentions at Westminster.
Corbyn and Findlay would have been interesting as Leaders of their respective branches.
We are looking forward to Corbyn down here - if Labour face annihilation in Scotland, it will be nothing compared to the bloodletting, wailing and gnashing of teeth that electing him will bring forth down here.
Dugdale might change her mind about separation after a month of Corbyn as the boss.
I do not mind Kezia, I think she can get better and people should give her a chance as leader before judging either way. Alex Rowley was a good choice for deputy though.
We gave her a chance as Depute and she helped lead Labour to a 40 seat loss in the GE.
I think Jim Murphy can take all the credit for that. Politics is well rid of the slimy toad who was a disaster in the NUS and never improved in parliament.
I like Findlay too. If he supported Indy then we'd be a near match.
I'm not keen on what I've seen of Kezia, nor do I see much in her, but leading Scottish Labour at 33 is an achievement for anyone so congratulations to her on that. I suspect she's in for an interesting time with the changes going in within Labour and the political landscape in Scotland moved so much in recent times too. It will be interesting to see how she tries to make her mark.
Anti austerity is a non issue for most of England and Wales now. There's 80% support for the reforms to child credit and the benefits cap. By 2020 its a non issue- as the cuts will have been replaced by tax cuts.
The SNP isn't actually offering non austerity - its redistributing its income within limits - and telling gullible voters that things would be different if it wasn't constrained by London.It can keep on doing that .
The polls suggest that Labour voters deserted not on austerity, but a general sense of not being cared for, and the logic that a Scottish party would do more for Scots than one looking after Newham or Islington.That logic still prevails.
Labour also lost because voters worked out that, as a SNP /Labour coalition was the only route to power - either party winning their seat would do. As the SNP were more likely to get more money for Scotland, that meant voting SNP. That logic hasn't changed either.
Corbyn just offers a marxist analysis that the voters want a more socialist option, and will see the light. He's also got a socialist view on central planning, needs more money from taxes, and is dismissing the SNP's claims for more control of taxation, and lower business taxes. He's also way to the left of the SNP on everything from austerity to leaving NATO. . He's also never going to be elected - which, on his own logic, means nationalism will retain its attraction. That isn't going to work for Labour .
Labour needs what its got. Someone who will rebuild the party at grass roots level, win back loCal support, and offer sensible policies that work for Scottish problems. They then have to pray that the SNP will foul something up .
indeed its a very strange situation - where Corbyn wouldn't have the support of either the party in Wales or Scotland, and when, even the ultimate party loyalist, Hattersley, is telling the Labour MPs to ignore him as leader - and to keep on voting for what they offered in the election. Its going to be Corbyn the King with no followers - except a swarm of new activists who will want to remove everyone but their leader.
Was he even a disaster in the NUS? Oh dear. Why on earth did they choose him over Neil Findlay? I think they would still have lost seats under Neil but maybe not with such spectacular swings!
There's not exactly a wealth of talent to choose from.