Former deputy leader of party and ex-trade union organiser announce they will stand in election to replace Kezia Dugdale

A former deputy leader of Labour in Scotland will go head to head with a former trade union organiser standing for the party’s pro-Jeremy Corbyn wing in the battle to take over the party following the resignation of Kezia Dugdale.

Anas Sarwar confirmed he would stand against Richard Leonard in a contest that will be seen as a tussle between Labour’s moderates and leftwingers, fuelled in part by accusations that Sarwar comes from the New Labour wing of the party.

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Sarwar signed a statement by Labour MSPs last year opposing Corbyn’s bid for re-election but now insists he would unify the party behind its leader. He earned commendations from Corbyn’s team after filling Glasgow Central mosque for a speech by the Labour leader during his tour of Scotland late last month.

“Labour is revitalised in Scotland and I am ready to unite our party and lead us back to power,” he said. “The people of Scotland do not need a Labour party that is fighting itself. They need a united Labour party in Holyrood that is fighting the SNP and ready to form Scotland’s next government. And they need a united Labour party across the UK working together to elect Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.”

The warnings against factionalism echo a detailed statement last week urging a “comradely, respectful” contest from the Campaign for Socialism, a leftwing Scottish grouping originally set up to oppose Tony Blair’s rewriting of clause four in 1994. In contrast to the deep splits which have divided Labour at Westminster, the Scottish party remained relatively united under Dugdale’s leadership.

After significant electoral defeats at the hands of the SNP in 2015 and 2016, and splits over Corbyn’s leadership bid last year, senior figures in both wings of the Scottish party say they are keen to preserve unity during the leadership election.



The CfS is endorsing Leonard’s candidacy. He reluctantly agreed to stand after the Corbyn camp’s favoured candidate, Neil Findlay, refused to put his name forward as did Alex Rowley, a former agent for Gordon Brown who is now the acting Scottish Labour leader.

Party sources predict that Sarwar will pick up a large majority of nominations from Scottish Labour’s 32 MSPs, MPs and MEPs while Leonard, a former GMB political officer, will be backed by all the major unions.

In an article for the Sunday Mail, Leonard said Scottish Labour had to stop manoeuvering to win support and implied he would present more radical policies, setting out his stall as a standard-bearer for the Corbyn camp.

“That means taking more chances. Labour are in third place [in the Scottish parliament] and unless we are audacious now, we will never win back the support of the people of Scotland,” he wrote.

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Sarwar, the son of the UK’s first Muslim MP, Mohammad Sarwar, attempted to reassure leftwing activists he was not standing on an anti-Corbyn ticket, and indicated he would keep the Scottish party’s policies, which includes a 50p top rate of tax.

The Corbyn camp has been pressing for more time to allow registered supporters to join the party in a bid to boost the left vote, which has grown after the Scottish party did better than expected in the June general election.

Support for Corbyn has also grown in Scotland since he consolidated his UK leadership, but Scottish Labour has recently been more centrist than other parts of the party. It was the only region that voted for Owen Smith, Corbyn’s opponent in last year’s leadership contest.

Leonard is untested and little known outside the trade union movement. A specialist in industrial and economic policy, he did not have a Twitter account until he agreed to stand as Scottish leader and is unused to media appearances.

Sarwar won the deputy leadership contest very comfortably when he stood in 2011, winning 51% of the vote against two other candidates. His critics, however, see him as dynastic politician after he was nominated in Glasgow Central to replace his father, who had held the seat since 1997.

Sarwar sends his children to a fee-paying school in Glasgow, which he also attended, offering his critics a line of attack. Leonard, however, also went to a fee-paying school in York. Some reports suggest Leonard being English will present an obstacle for some voters.

The formal campaigns are expected to start next week after Labour’s Scottish executive committee agrees on the rules and timetable for the contest.