A MOVE hailed as putting Scottish Labour on track to becoming fully autonomous has been dismissed as 'cosmetic' as there is nothing to prevent a repeat of the situation that saw Johann Lamont quit as leader due to interference from London.
Ms Lamont resigned as Scottish leader in 2014, in the aftermath of the independence referendum, angry that key decisions, predominantly the removal of Scottish General Secretary Ian Price, were being taken by bosses in London without input from her.
She famously claimed the Scottish Party was being treated like a "branch office from London" with her successors, Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale, struggling to shake off the damaging tag, despite repeated efforts.
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Under the latest proposals to hand Scottish Labour autonomy, the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) agreed that it will be handed control over policy, constituency parties and candidate selections for Westminster. Kezia Dugdale has described the planned move as "the biggest changes to how Scottish Labour is run in a generation."
However, others within Scottish Labour have cast doubt over the degree to which the party will be truly autonomous due to the power London will retain over the Scottish General Secretary, its most senior permanent staff member.
Senior sources confirmed that there would be no changes to staffing arrangements that were in place in 2014, when Ms Lamont quit, leaving the Scottish General Secretary an employee of the NEC.
An insider said if that UK Labour was retaining power over the Scottish General Secretary, that person would always be looking over their shoulder to please the UK leadership, and Scottish Labour would never be truly autonomous. The source, who branded the planned changes "cosmetic", said: "This is not autonomy. If London gets to hire and fire then the Scottish operation is still a branch office."
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When she was Scottish Labour leader, Ms Lamont, now an MSP under Ms Dugdale, recommended Mr Price for the position of Scottish General Secretary in 2013. The party’s UK headquarters then rubber-stamped her choice.
However in October 2014, in the aftermath of the independence referendum, Mr Price left after pressure was applied by Labour HQ without consulting Ms Lamont.
Under the latest reforms, which still have to be approved by the party's conference, the Scottish leader will also be able to nominate a frontbench MSP to sit on the NEC for the first time, a concession that has been hailed as a "massive personal victory" for Ms Dugdale by party insiders. The leader of the Welsh party leader will also be able to nominate a member, with the NEC finely balanced between those who support and oppose Jeremy Corbyn.
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Scottish Labour will be able to set policy in reserved areas, however, Westminster candidates will stand on the same manifesto as colleagues south of the border in UK elections.
Ms Dugdale has said of the latest changes: "I’m pleased to say that we have the agreement of Labour’s NEC for our autonomy proposals. These will be the biggest changes we’ve seen to how the Scottish Labour Party is run in a generation. It means Scottish Labour is now on track to become fully autonomous within the UK Labour Party."
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