Scottish Labour watched on in dismay and horror as all but one of their MPs disappeared into the hands of the SNP. It was an unprecedented party annihilation that will go down in political history, given that they previously had forty-one MPs in Scotland. Thursday’s election demonstrated the colossal problem that Labour in Scotland currently face, and it occurred on a scale that even the SNP did not anticipate or expect. Their misery was amplified by the fact they failed to convince southern English voters of their cause, and the Conservatives consequently stumbled into government with a narrow majority – a completely unexpected turn of events. Labour’s difficulty down south is that many people simply do not trust them with the economy. However, in Scotland, the scenario is rather different; Labour is perceived as not being as leftwing as they ought to be here, and therefore people swung to the SNP on a record-breaking scale. New Labour’s failures and Blairite ideology dented the party’s image in Scotland, and they have yet to recover.

In the 2010 election, Scottish Labour still performed considerably well, primarily because the electorate felt that they would rather them than the Tories, and no feasible alternative was being offered. Fast forward five years, and those who felt let down by Labour in 2010, but still remained with the party, were now faced with an appealing alternative: the Scottish National Party. The nationalist’s dismissal of nuclear weapons, support for free higher education, desire to end austerity and aspiration for a fairer voting system are all issues perceived as more progressive and left-wing than Labour’s.

Scottish Labour refuse to adopt these specific policies, and not simply because their MPs do not believe in them – although this will be the case for some – but rather that Scottish Labour are under the command of their Westminster overlords, and thus have little choice as to what policies they can adopt. Had the MPs who have just lost their valuable Scottish seats been given the opportunity to distance themselves from Labour’s policies, and instead endorse newly sculpted Scottish Labour policies, then I am sure they would have done so in a heartbeat – given that their jobs may have been saved. A transformed Scottish Labour party opposed to Trident, for example, would have been considerably more appealing than the one we were offered in the lead-up to the general election, and emphatically rejected.

Unlike Labour in England – who have five whole years to transform themselves – Scottish Labour only has one year until their next judgement call. They have a stark choice: continue to pursue the hopeless path of abiding by Labour’s UK-wide policies, and face inevitable humiliation, or rebel and ditch the concept of continuing as a branch office all together and form new, progressive policies that appeal to the Scottish electorate. If they opt for the former, then they can wave goodbye to the vast majority of their Holyrood MSPs, and potentially risk the Union that they fought so hard to protect in last year’s independence referendum. However, if they pursue the latter path, then they might just be able to prevent themselves from becoming a political irrelevance, and may also maintain the Union for longer.

Labour have been slowly crumbling in Scotland for some time now, and it has been brought to the forefront of political discussion through their abysmal performance on Thursday. The party is in a crucial and fragile period, for if an idiotic decision is made from now through until next year, it could threaten their very existence. Removing Jim Murphy as leader, given that he has proven to be unpopular, is crucial, and the appointment of a more leftwing candidate must follow. Furthermore, if they are to salvage any dignity come the 2016 Holyrood election, then they must redefine the entire party, distancing themselves from Labour’s Westminster policies and draughting up their own.

Scottish Labour has remained a branch office to London for far too long, and the time to embrace change is long overdue. If they simply trudge along as they are, their downfall can be blamed on no one else but themselves.

Ryan Curran

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