Clyde1998 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 How's he going to do that without a Holyrood seat? I'd be astonished if he took that job on... He could become the leader of Scottish Labour, but with someone else being the Holyrood leader until 2016. I hope Brown doesn't go to Holyrood... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 I hope Brown doesn't go to Holyrood... More chance of Frankie going there. Labour's big hitters all want to be in one place, and it ain't in Edinburgh... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Bongo Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Now official Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stocky Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Big Rumours going around that GEE BEE will go back to Holyrude............ might just be that he heard that Salmond is Targeting his Kirkaldy seat next year tho........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redstevie007 Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 ####in hatchet faced boot. I've despised many politicians in my time but few more than her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
munroskh Posted October 24, 2014 Share Posted October 24, 2014 Condolences to Jonathan Watson for his sad loss...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padre Andrew Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 John McTernan on Crossfire this morning displayed all the proof needed that some people in the Labour party are in complete denial. The SNP “are in serious trouble” having been “smashed in their heartlands” in the referendum. That’s right: the kind of serious trouble that sees party membership more than triple after the vote. His line was straight from the 1970s – essentially ‘A vote for the SNP is a vote for the Tories’. No notion that anything has moved on in the last 40 years. The sense of belief in Labour’s right to govern borders on parody. I don’t like quoting Tories, but Alex Massie’s line today is priceless: “They’re the political equivalent of Rangers football club. All this strutting around shouting We are the People. All these delusions of grandeur and future glory. Once upon a time it inspired some kind of terror. Now it’s simply laughable. In each case these people have no idea how daft they look. People are tittering. A party can cope with being hated. That’s to be expected and just the way it goes. But a party cannot survive ridicule.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flure Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Labour pressure group declares opposition to several frontrunner MPs touted for leadership Published on 26 October 2014 Gerry Braiden The new Labour pressure group set up to radicalise the party in Scotland has declared its opposition to several frontrunning MPs becoming leader. Labour For Scotland said the "defining issue" in the battle for the leadership, and indeed the soul and identity of the Scottish party, must come down to a break from "Westminster interference". The group, set up earlier this month and wanting a more radical approach to devolution and more autonomy to develop policies tailored to Scotland, said the selection of a new leader must involve Labour's grassroots. It called also for an MSP to be given the job, adding they must also be from a new generation. The move is clear statement of opposition to the speculation MP Jim Murphy is the frontrunner to become leader, as well as other Westminster 'big beasts' Douglas Alexander and Gordon Brown and Glasgow South MP Anas Sarwar. Labour will today meet to decide the process and timetable for selecting a new leader, with Mr Sarwar to publicly spell out the next steps. Labour for Scotland co-organiser Glasgow councillor Jon Findlay said: "Johann Lamont's resignation has revealed a democratic deficit in the Labour Party. Her mandate to lead came from the members who elected her and she deserved respect and support. "The defining issue of the leadership contest will now be the freedom of Scottish Labour to set its own policies and priorities, without Westminster interference. "This is different from any previous leadership election because we are not just choosing a new leader, we also have to decide what the job really means. This debate must involve everyone in the party from the grassroots upwards. "The leader must come from the Scottish Parliament and it should be someone from a new generation." Around 80 party activists attended the inaugural meeting of Labour for Scotland at Strathclyde University just over a week ago, including ex-MSPs Frank McAveety and Pauline McNeill, Unison Scottish organiser Dave Watson and STUC deputy secretary Dave Moxham. Formed in the aftermath of the referendum, the group aims to stimulate debate within the party's grass roots, and wants a more radical approach to devolution and more autonomy to develop policies tailored to Scotland. Among the policy areas discussed last week were greater public ownership of services and assets, local taxation, childcare and a living wage. It has been claim Labour for Scotland has echoes of the 1980s group Scottish Labour Action, which fought for devolution and had Jack McConnell and Wendy Alexander among its founder members. http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobile/politics/scottish-politics/labour-pressure-group-declares-opposition-to-several-leadership-frontrunn.1414329584 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86glebestreet Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 An ars sanwar , go to bed with Nicola sturgeon, wake up wit david Cameron , couldn't give a fc UK as long as labour get a doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 An ars sanwar , go to bed with Nicola sturgeon, wake up wit david Cameron , couldn't give a fc UK as long as labour get a doing So not content with nicking the Tories policies, they're now stealing their jokes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have a lot of time for Johan Lamont. She is an ordinary person from an ordinary background. If we want to have a proper democracy we need more folk in politics from her type of background. I don't want to be governed by posh, toffy nosed Eton/Oxford/Cambridge elites. She has clearly been forced into saying things she doesn't really believe in, and that is a weakness on her part. She is the sort of person that ordinary working class folk can relate to. I hope they go for Jim Murphy. He will hasten the demise of Labour in Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padre Andrew Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Lord p*shypants was on the radio earlier calling for a quick fix, elect a leader quickly (his preference was for Gordon Brown), get everything back to normal. The next few months are going to provide some brilliant entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Bongo Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I have a lot of time for Johan Lamont. She has clearly been forced into saying things she doesn't really believe in, and that is a weakness on her part. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flora MaDonald Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I have a lot of time for Johan Lamont. She is an ordinary person from an ordinary background. If we want to have a proper democracy we need more folk in politics from her type of background. I don't want to be governed by posh, toffy nosed Eton/Oxford/Cambridge elites. She has clearly been forced into saying things she doesn't really believe in, and that is a weakness on her part. She is the sort of person that ordinary working class folk can relate to. I hope they go for Jim Murphy. He will hasten the demise of Labour in Scotland. I telt you aboot that crystal meth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I telt you aboot that crystal meth. Aye, it's braw stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Quite a few names have ruled themselves out already... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29784568 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maq Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Quite a few names have ruled themselves out already... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29784568 Of those mentioned, surely it's going to be skeletor? No way I can see Broon getting involved in something so beneath him as Scottish politics.... So if it's Jim Murphy, with Anas Sarwar as his deputy - there will be no leadership at Holyrood?! Or will they announce some kind of 'Holyrood leader'? Bizarre. I assume that Murphy would be expected to run for First Minister in 2016? Otherwise it's completely farcical, no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flure Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Murphy was on SKY News last Friday (i.e. the Friday before Lamont resigned) and specifically said that he had no intention of seeking the Scottish job because he wanted to play a full role in the next Labour Werstminster government. From the Hootsman I think this is. WHEN Labour MP Jim Murphy appeared on Dermot Murnaghan’s Sky News programme last Sunday morning, he appeared to put an end to speculation that he might hold ambitions to the lead the Scottish Labour Party, writes Euan Malcolm. For months, the shadow international development secretary’s name had been linked with the position held – until Friday evening – by Johann Lamont, but, asked by Murnaghan if he was interested, Murphy said he was determined to play a role in the next Labour government at Westminster. Pressed on whether this meant he was ruling himself out of making a pitch for the job, Murphy was unequivocal in answering “yes”. There was considerable disappointment among (sections of) the Scottish Labour Party membership at this news. For many, Murphy represented Labour’s best chance of orchestrating any kind of fightback against the SNP. A week after that interview and those same Labour members disappointed by his declaration hope that Murphy might be persuaded to change his mind. The 47-year-old MP for East Renfrewshire remains, for some, the only choice to lead the party. Murphy is a skilled politician who, having won what was once considered the safest Tory seat in Scotland in 1997, set about turning it into one of the safest Labour ones. He had a very good independence referendum campaign, touring Scotland and delivering pro-Union speeches, while standing on top of two Irn-Bru crates, in towns across the country. His profile during the campaign was considerably higher than Lamont’s. At times, it seemed as if Murphy was already Labour’s most senior Scottish figure. Those in Labour who believe Murphy remains the best candidate to succeed Lamont have another reason for placing their faith in him. He has a track record in dealing confidently with the SNP. When Murphy was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland in 2008, he asked officials to arrange a meeting with First Minister Alex Salmond and requested that he and the SNP leader have five minutes in private before they were joined by their teams. The call came back that Salmond would be happy to meet but that it would not be possible to have that private session. Murphy agreed to Salmond’s conditions and then began the meeting by asking for five minutes in private. His team, teed up for this moment, stood and left the meeting room, leaving Salmond’s officials with little option but to do likewise. Labour and SNP sources alike say that what followed was a tense confrontation between Murphy and Salmond. Murphy, it is said, told Salmond he considered him a “f***ing bully” and warned that he would not be trodden over. Apparently Salmond spluttered that this wasn’t terribly collegiate to which Murphy responded that it was as well they understood each other. But this cocky side to Murphy, attractive to many in Labour, has rubbed some colleagues up the wrong way. While some see him as the party’s potential saviour, others describe him as a divisive figure. Some doubt his commitment to devolution, considering him a Westminster politician to the tips of his toes. Should Murphy decide to step forward, it would require a commitment from him to stand for Holyrood in 2016. This would have echoes of Salmond’s successful 2007 Scottish Parliament campaign, when he returned as an MSP after six years at Westminster. A Murphy leadership would also require the replacement of the Scottish party’s current deputy, Anas Sarwar MP. Were Murphy to serve, initially, at Westminster, then he would require a deputy at Holyrood, able to deal with First Minister’s Questions, among other matters. This weekend, a number of names are in the frame to succeed Lamont. Alongside Murphy, both Sarwar and Labour’s shadow education secretary, Kezia Dugdale, are tipped as possible replacements. If a large part of Lamont’s problem was the inability to stamp her authority on the problem, then a Sarwar leadership would promise more of the same. Dugdale, bright though inexperienced, might find the challenges of leadership had come too soon. Perhaps, though, she might make a good deputy. Wilder speculation suggests that former prime minister Gordon Brown might pitch for the job. That would certainly be a sensational story, but Brown remains a hugely divisive figure in the party and has previously ruled out a return to frontline politics. Murphy, then, appears the obvious candidate. He’s a smart enough politician to realise that, without power, his business is pointless. Murphy, a supporter of David Miliband’s failed Labour leadership campaign, is not guaranteed a prominent role in a future Ed Miliband cabinet, should such a thing ever exist. He might, though, make a decent run at becoming First Minister. There is a wider party problem that will only be solved by the election of a leader who inspires confidence. Sacked Scottish general secretary Ian Price would appear to have been made the fall guy for the loss to the Yes campaign of traditional Labour areas such as Glasgow and North Lanarkshire. This is unfair, but politics is often so. This role must be filled quickly. It is hard to imagine a queue of high-calibre candidates lining up to serve under yet another inadequate leader. The Scottish Labour Party – from political leadership to back room planning – is in crisis. It requires not only a new figurehead but the complete rebuilding of its strategy. Murphy was yesterday lying low, refusing to take calls from the media. There was no spin from “friends” about his intentions. But he will be acutely aware that pressure on him to step up and, at least, try to get Scottish Labour back on track is growing. Among those who know him, opinion remains divided. One friend yesterday insisted that Murphy had committed himself to Westminster and that was that. Another, though, had a take that might raise the hopes of quite a few of his colleagues. “Jim loves the Labour Party,” he said. “He’ll do the right thing.” « Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orraloon Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think Ken Macintosh would be their best option, so I hope it's not him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 I think Ken Macintosh would be their best option, so I hope it's not him. What's happened to him? He never used to be off the telly... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair Bob Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 There will have to be a Holyrood leader, for no other reason than they will have to have someone for Nicola Sturgeon to roundhouse every Thursday lunchtime. If they go for an MP as Scottish leader, we could have the scenario where the Labour leader in Scotland could legitimately be recognised as any one of Ed Milliband, the Scottish Secretary, the 'Scottish leader' MP (e.g. Jim Murphy) *and* a Holyrood group leader (e.g. Jackie Baillie) - and the 'leader' might be voted for, thanks to Labour's mad electoral process where you get one vote for being in the party, one for being an elected MSP/MEP/MP, plus one for each union you are a member of, by one person up to four times. Labour's leader can even, ironically, be elected by members of other parties such as the SNP who are in unions affilated to Labour... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toepoke Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Who from the SNP used to question Jack McConnell at FMQs prior to 2007? So long ago I can't remember!... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Padre Andrew Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 Murphy was on SKY News last Friday (i.e. the Friday before Lamont resigned) and specifically said that he had no intention of seeking the Scottish job because he wanted to play a full role in the next Labour Werstminster government. Would you trust that man as far as you could throw him? His ‘100-towns’ indyref tour was described as a ‘100-day job application’ for the position of Scottish Labour leader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littleboyblue Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 (edited) I can't remember either but I guess it was Nicola Sturgeon as she was described as leader in the Scottish Parliament from 2004 to 2007 i.e. during the period from Swinney stepping down to Salmond becoming FM. Edit - quote didn't work, Toepoke. Edited October 27, 2014 by littleboyblue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UPROAR Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 The next general election is everything for British labour. They need to avoid a collapse in scotland - that's about all they will aim for..... it is clear that London run parties cannot succeed in Scotland any more as we watch the slow break up of the Union.....the major parties are fixated with following voters in the South East rather than leading them and that will not wash in Scotland. None of the 'local' party scots will do, except in a deputy role.... Murphy will be bribed if he is reluctant - who else do they think they have ?? My local SNP has gone from 180 ish embers to nearly 1000 and they are all turning up to meetings. This could be a hell of a Westminster campaign.... I really hope it is Murphy, it would be a train wreck....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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