IT’S hard not to feel sorry for Kezia Dugdale. Being leader of Scottish Labour is a little like being the captain of the Titanic.
Well, maybe not – the captain of the Titanic at least managed to get his ship half way to New York before it started sinking.
Being leader of Scottish Labour is like being given the job of captain of the Titanic after all the lifeboats have already left the ship.
What we are witnessing in Scotland is the sort of political change that maybe only happens once every 100 years or so.
It is incredible to watch the once all-powerful, all-conquering Labour Party slowly sink into oblivion. Particularly since it was they who steered at the iceberg.
What is astonishing is how Jeremy Corbyn seems happy to let it sink.
How much longer will Kezia Dugdale last?
There seems to be little to no appetite in her party for a new leader. Indeed, it would be their sixth since 2011 if that were to happen.
Even if Labour performs disastrously in May it will likely be part of a trend that started with the General Election last year and culminates in the council elections next year.
If, as looks likely, Scottish Labour finds itself losing councillors and councils then, savagely, the party will probably let Dugdale hold on and take the kicking for that.
Dugdale may be in the unenviable position of becoming an ex-leader and elder stateswoman of Scottish Labour before she turns 37.
And it seems as if her colleagues south of the Border are happy for that to happen.
Of course, Dugdale is right when she says she leads the party in Scotland. This is no longer a branch office, but a fully autonomous unit, Scottish Labour argue.
Even so, it seems odd that Jeremy Corbyn is not addressing the last conference before an election.
As far as we’re aware, Miliband, Brown and Blair attended all the Scottish Labour spring conferences during their time in charge.
Corbyn will instead be going door-to-door asking people to vote for the UK to remain in the EU.
The question is: who is avoiding whom? Has Dugdale told Corbyn to stay away? Or is Corbyn staying away in a bid to distance himself from Scottish Labour’s sinking?
North Sea tax needs fixed
WHEN one of the country’s top experts in his field tells you North Sea exploration is dead, you tend to sit up and take notice.
And while us mere mortals may have struggled to see through the smoke and mirrors that formed George Osborne’s set for his Budget – especially the £1 billion of goodies for the oil sector – Professor Alex Russell saw it as more of an attack on the industry than a handout.
Russell insists that Osborne’s “abandoning” of Petroleum Revenue Tax – which he has called for many times – only gives the impression of a handout, as hardly any fields pay it in any case. A main bugbear for the petroleum economist is the high level of Corporation Tax that is levied on oil majors compared with other sectors.
He argues the tax anomaly must be sorted out, and oil companies “tied in” to loan or other arrangements with Holyrood and, if necessary, Westminster to explore for new reserves in return for relief on decommissioning costs.
Russell reckons Holyrood would buy into such a deal, but we – like him – wonder if Osborne will listen.
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