KEITH Brown says Richard Leonard is “still in denial” about Labour’s European election drubbing.
The Scottish Labour leader told the Herald on Sunday that he “wasn’t involved” in key campaign decisions and claimed “there’s no reason” his party can’t win the 2021 Holyrood election.
The SNP’s depute leader said Labour had failed to learn from the vote in which they lost both MEPs.
“Richard Leonard still appears to be in denial about the reasons for Labour’s drubbing at the European elections, which saw the party slump into fifth place in Scotland and lose all its MEPs,” Brown said.
“Unless Labour start listening,
and join the SNP in defending Scotland’s democratic decisions, they are doomed to repeat the same mistakes again and continue on the road to oblivion.”
Brown comments came after the former Labour first minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones AM,
publicly backed Scotland’s right to hold indyref2. The SNP depute leader said it was “frankly embarrassing” that Welsh Labour politicians had done more than Leonard to defend Scotland’s right to hold indyref2.
Over the weekend, Jones tweeted: “The people of Scotland and for that matter, Wales have every right to hold a referendum [on] independence if they support a party calling for it ... In 2015 David Cameron got elected with a promise to hold an EU ref which he did.
“If a party gets elected to government in Scotland or Wales with a similar promise same principles must apply.”
Other Welsh Labour politicians have also voiced their support on social media.
Brown said: “Scottish Labour’s branch office reputation will continue to be warranted unless they start to stand up for Scotland’s decision to remain in the EU, and Scotland’s democratic right to hold an independence referendum.”
“It is frankly embarrassing that Welsh Labour politicians, including Carwyn Jones, have done more to defend the people of Scotland’s right to hold an independence referendum than Scottish Labour who have sided with the Tories or remained silent.”
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