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Richard Leonard won a crucial battle to keep all-women shortlists for Labour’s Westminster candidates yesterday.

The Scottish Labour leader survived the first major challenge to his authority at a meeting of the party’s executive committee (SEC) in Glasgow yesterday.

A faction on the right of the party wanted to replace all women shortlists with a twinning arrangement, where neighbouring constituency parties picked a man and a woman.

(Image: Daily Record)

It’s understood they also made tentative moves to replace communities spokeswoman Monica Lennon on the SEC.

A source said: “There have been rows between the two wings of the party. A group wanted to move to a system of twinning. There was also an attempt to move Monica Lennon, a close ally of Leonard’s and a massive supporter of all women shortlists, off the SEC.

“It has been said that as a member of the shadow cabinet she shouldn’t be on the SEC. But there is nothing in the party’s rules covering this.

“This was an attempt to challenge Leonard’s power base and it has failed, for the time being at least.”

Leonard, who took charge of Scottish Labour in November, said during the leadership campaign that the party should be “unapologetic in our continued pursuit of all-women shortlists”.

The move is an attempt to ensure a better gender balance among their Scottish MPs.

Labour won seven out of 59 Scottish seats at Westminster at last year’s General Election. Just two of the seven MPs are women.

In 2010, when Labour won 41 MPs, just 11 were women. In 2015, Scottish Labour’s only MP was a man.

Only 32 per cent of the 650 MPs at Westminster are female.

Central Scotland MSP Lennon was appointed to improve Scottish Labour’s general balance of Westminster candidates.

(Image: PA)

The party have identified 20 Westminster seats they believes they can win in another snap election, including all seven Glasgow constituencies.

Lennon said: “I’m pleased the SEC welcomed Richard Leonard’s challenge to our wider party to change our culture and behaviours and I’m pleased to have been tasked with leading that work.”

A party spokesman said: “The SEC reaffirmed Labour’s commitment to at least 50:50 representation of women in parliament.”

But the SEC delayed holding an election for the party’s deputy leadership until the summer, saying they were going to focus on fighting austerity.

Alex Rowley resigned as deputy leader last month after a party probe into harassment claims by an ex-partner.