A Scottish Labour MP has called for the party’s leadership to resign following the party’s poor performance in the Holyrood election. Labour secured only 17 seats last week, tying for second place with Reform UK.
Leishman demands accountability
Speaking on Monday, Alloa and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman, a frequent critic of the party’s leadership at a UK level, said it was time for leader Anas Sarwar and his deputy Dame Jackie Baillie to step down. When asked if they should resign, he told BBC Radio Scotland: “Absolutely.”
Leishman acknowledged the national context but argued that the leaders must take responsibility. “There’s talk of a national wave, now don’t get me wrong, Keir Starmer came up very, very regularly on the doorsteps, there has been a national wave against Keir Starmer. But what I will say is, if you want to take credit for going from two Scottish Labour MPs in the general election to 37, then you’ve got to say that was a national wave. Anas and Jackie cannot take the credit for that but then look at us being reduced to 17 MSPs and not hold up their hands and be accountable and responsible for that.”
Electoral strategy criticised
The MP criticised the party’s electoral strategy, stating it “was not there”. He added: “The bold, transformational radicalism was not there. If Scottish Labour don’t get back to our radical values and actually offering something different for the Scots that need it, then we are facing electoral oblivion.”
Leishman refused to speculate on potential successors but emphasised the need to move beyond personality politics. “We’ve got to get away from the cult of personality and actually look at policies and politics that will meaningfully change people’s lives. Our manifesto was light on that and we really have to offer an awful lot better.”
Pressure on Starmer mounts
The results across the UK have intensified pressure on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. He is set to deliver a crucial speech on Monday as he attempts to salvage his premiership. Former Foreign Office minister Catherine West announced over the weekend that she would launch her own bid to unseat the Prime Minister if no Cabinet member steps forward.
However, Leishman insisted that the process to replace Starmer must be democratic. “We’ve got to be a democratic political party and that means people that want to put their name forward doing so, seeing if they can amass the nominations required and then put it forward to our grassroots Labour Party members,” he said.
