They’re all it at. The dust has barely settled on the ruthless removal of Jackson Carlaw from the Scottish Conservative leadership yet it seems the Caledonian branch of the People’s Party are in rebellious mood too. Three Labour MSPs have called on Holyrood chief Richard Leonard to stand down, with moderate Jenny Marra describing his leadership as ‘tied from the start to the disaster of Jeremy Corbyn’s project’. Leonard was chosen to replace Kezia Dugdale in 2017 but his lacklustre style, as much as his left-wing leanings, has seen him make no impact in almost three years.
Well, no impact on the SNP; he’s certainly left his mark on Scottish Labour. In the UK’s final European Parliament elections, he oversaw a vote collapse of almost 17 per cent, the loss of both Scottish Labour MEPs and an overall placement of fifth. In the 2019 general election, he lost all but one of Labour’s MPs north of the border and took the party to its lowest share of the vote in 109 years.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in