RICHARD Leonard is to give a key note speech tomorrow in a bid to get his leadership of Scottish Labour on the front foot.
The party chief has been hit with a series of poor approval ratings in opinion polls, prompting speculation over his tenure in the top job.
A survey published yesterday by Savanta Com Res put Labour on just 17% of the constituency vote, and 16% of the regional list vote at next year’s Holyrood elections.
In 2016 the party was pushed into third place behind the SNP and Tories, gaining 23% of the constituency vote and 19% on the regional vote.
According to yesterday’s poll, carried out between August 6 and 13, the SNP are on course to get 51% of the first past the post vote and 43% on the regional list, compared to 46.5% and 43% respectively in 2016.
The Tories are still forecast to remain in second place with 24% and 21% on the two votes.
Tensions have also erupted in recent weeks over the party’s decision to strengthen its rejection of a second independence referendum.
READ MORE: Keir Starmer 'loses confidence' in Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard
The move was a hardening of its opposition to a new vote and followed UK Labour under former leader Jeremy Corbyn taking a softer approach in a bid to win back lost Yes voters.
However, in June, after Keir Starmer backed Scottish Labour’s unconditional rejection of a second independence referendum, some independence supporting activists quit the party.
Last week, the Times reported that Starmer had lost confidence in Leonard as Scottish Labour leader.
Consistently low polling returns and an inability to cut through with the public have left the UK Labour leader underwhelmed with the approach and performance in Scotland, it was said.
The paper said it understood that Starmer is frustrated with the situation in Scotland and does not believe that Leonard is the person to reverse the party’s fortunes. A series of virtual “town hall” meetings in Scotland is said to have cemented this view as voters dialled in to the video chats to say that they did not know who Leonard was and praised Nicola Sturgeon.
Under Leonard’s leadership, Scottish Labour lost six of its seven MPs at December’s General Election and came fifth in the European elections.
A YouGov poll for The Times last week highlighted Leonard’s weakness. He has an approval rating of -27, but more concerning for the party’s hierarchy is that 53% of Scottish voters do not have an opinion of him after three years as leader. The poll, which showed support for Labour at 14% in both the constituency and regional list votes, leaves the party on course to lose five seats at Holyrood and drop to 18 MSPs.
“There is no animosity borne towards Richard, there is just no confidence in him,” one source familiar with the thinking inside Starmer’s office said.
A spokesman for Starmer later said it was “nonsense” that he wanted Leonard removed. The paper reported there was no desire from London to directly try to force Leonard out of office but it was believed the hope was the situation could be resolved within the Scottish party. Two planned visits to Scotland by Starmer and Angela Rayner, his deputy, have been postponed in recent weeks.
READ MORE: Kirsty Strickland: How do you solve a problem like Richard Leonard?
Leonard is, however, likely to remain as leader until after the Holyrood election. He has currently no clear challenger. He became Scottish Labour leader in 2017, beating former deputy leader Anas Sarwar. The Glasgow MSP is unlikely to make a leadership bid having been bruised by the last contest.
Jackie Baillie, 56, the Scottish Labour deputy leader and long-serving MSP, has proven to be an effective campaigner by consistently retaining her Holyrood seat against the odds. She emphatically does not want the job.
Ian Murray MP, 44, the shadow Scottish secretary who has retained his Edinburgh South seat for Labour against difficult odds, is reluctant to swap Westminster for Holyrood.
Monica Lennon, 39, the health spokeswoman, is adept at forcing important issues into the limelight but has many of the same detractors at Holyrood as Leonard, 58.
Details of the theme of Leonard’s major speech and where he will deliver it had not been released before The National went to press last night.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel