Scottish Labour Needs Jackie Baillie for Deputy; minor bun fight for Scottish Labour hots up as failed Corbynista poster boy Labour Cllr Matt Kerr enters the race for Scottish deputy leadership, he says he wants to "empower a new generation in the party's grassroots", given he didn’t empower Pollok CLP to turn this failing CLP around, does a history of failure qualify as a recommendation to be deputy leader, or does he simply want an easy route to the top MSP list position in Glasgow?

Dear All

Despite the main focus being on the UK leadership posts up for grabs, there is also a minor contest being held in Scotland for the post of Scottish Labour Deputy which Lesley Laird resigned from after losing her seat. So, far, it appears that there are four people standing for the post, Jackie Baillie who is the clear favourite in my opinion, Pauline McNeill MSP, Michael Marra, a Dundee Councillor and Glasgow councillor Matt Kerr. In an ideal world, that election should be won by Jackie Balllie because both sides of the Labour should be represented at the top of the Scottish leadership.

Given that the Corbyn experiment has failed due to isolationism and the views of others not tolerated having two Corbynitas as Scottish leader and deputy leader will not work. I think wider appeal is needed, because if others don’t have a voice, don’t be surprised if also they feel that they shouldn’t be involved. A Leonard and Kerr team won’t turn Scottish Labour back into a winning campaigning machine. In the first paragraph of his Tribune article called Renewing Scottish Labour, Cllr Kerr starts by writing:

“In 2017, I was 60 votes away from turning my corner of the city red again but now, after our bruising defeat last month, we find ourselves having to ask some difficult questions”.

Matt Kerr’s result in 2019 was brushed under the carpet, because unlike the 2017 result where Team Kerr was 60 votes away, 2019 saw Team Kerr getting worse and losing by 4900 votes.

If you want to renew Scottish Labour, the first thing to acknowledge is the truth, and not a modified version to suit ambition. I found his Tribune article to be disconnected with reality, especially when he says he is standing to "empower a new generation in the party's grassroots". Since his failure in 2017, he hasn’t empowered Pollok CLP which you would think would be central to his pitch. After all he is talking about leadership and being a senior Labour leadership prospect. Pollok CLP is a CLP which hasn’t been turned around, Cllr Kerr hasn’t managed to create unity after his nomination in a bad tempered race.

Not only does Cllr Kerr not have the ability to empower a new generation, he doesn’t empower the old generation so I don’t think the Corbyn poster boy equals the ‘new generation’ either but rather the tail off of the failed Corbyn experiment. I had a look at his campaign election photos; they are full of people who don’t attend Pollok CLP meetings. Cllr Kerr relied on other people to do his campaign, As I blogged previously, I did some days on his 2017 campaign, I found him to be un-professional. In the Johann Lamont campaign of 2016, I rarely saw Cllr Kerr turn up as an activist, there at the start and there at the end, not seen by me in the bulk of the campaign, and I did a considerably amount of days on that campaign.

You have to wonder for someone who harks about the good old days in his pitch to be 'the future', why the mixed messages, is it that he has nothing really to say about the future?

He said:

"The Scottish Labour Party must understand that politics happens in every community, not just political chambers. There was a time when the Labour Party was the community - it was Labour members and activists who ran community centres, advice centres and supported neighbours in their time of need. Over decades the party has submitted to a hierarchical structure, where those who are privileged enough to hold political office believe they should become all-powerful, and members and activists are only encouraged to support candidates at election time. And as our party's democratic structures eroded, so did the trust placed in us by our communities. I am committed to helping Labour, and will work alongside (Scottish Labour leader) Richard Leonard and every different section of our party to ensure every member has a voice. Building up the confidence of our membership and encouraging them to become more active in their communities is what will help us to rebuild trust where it has been lost."

Where Cllr Kerr really loses the plot is his notion that the party must develop its own option for the constitution.

The Labour Party gave us devolution and look how that turned out for them and us, clearly when it comes to the constitution, the way for the party is strengthening itself and be clearly seen as pro UK.

He said:

"I am against independence because I think it will prolong and intensify austerity and that it will be working people who will pay the price. The economic reality of independence and the hair-brained plans for the currency really will jeopardise the life chances of far too many people for at least a generation. Even the SNP's own Growth Commission recognises this. But we are democratic socialists and it's no longer good enough to say that we think the Westminster Government should block a democratic mandate if it emerges. Doing so plays into the hands of the SNP. Moving forward, Labour must separate the process of indyref2 from the substance of independence itself”.

He added:

"We must say, quite clearly, that we will campaign against independence but not argue for blocking another referendum if that's what the people of Scotland decide they want. Critically, Labour has to develop its own option for the constitution. Scotland cannot afford the status quo any longer but the solution to the current situation is not independence. We have to develop and present our plans for a stronger Scottish Parliament with new powers within a stronger, fairer and better UK.

Finally; on the one hand, Matt Kerr talks about not playing into the hands of the SNP; then puts forward options which do exactly that by saying Labour shouldn’t block Nicola Sturgeon’s neverendum.

Eh? 

He then supports the SNP stealth strategy of getting the Scottish Parliament new powers. 

Are these the tactics which are going to increase Labour votes and representation or are they the framework for turning Labour into another proxy vessel for the SNP to use just like the Scottish Greens?

Pollok CLP has been looking for leadership as far back as the Herald article of 2012 which called it the worst CLP in Scotland. In the years between 2012 when the article was written to 2020, you could argue not much has changed. Where was the leadership of Cllr Matt Kerr to turn round that CLP? If you can’t setup fixed workdays to get campaigning done in the long campaign in Pollok CLP, doesn’t anyone serious think that deputy leadership of Scottish Labour would be in a safe pair of hands with Matt Kerr at the wheel?

Or would his tenure be a #KerrCrash waiting to happen?

I will be voting for Jackie Baillie for deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University