UNION bosses are pushing for more time to choose the next leader of Scottish Labour, in a move that appears calculated to help the pro-Corbyn candidate Richard Leonard MSP.
The rules will be set today when the party’s ruling Scottish Executive Committee meets in Stirling.
The contest, between Mr Leonard and centrist MSP Anas Sarwar, will mirror the race Kezia Dugdale won after a simple vote of party members in 2015.
However there is friction over timing, with unions unhappy about a provisional declaration date of November 18, and pushing for a longer run, possibly into December.
This would allow more new members to be signed up, and help the relatively unknown Mr Leonard build his profile.
A Labour insider said: “Unite [the union] would like to stretch out the whole process. The longer they have, the longer they have to get Richard known. But the party needs a leader.”
The row comes amid signs of an upturn in Labour fortunes, with two council by-election wins on Thursday.
Labour’s Clare Quigley was elected in North Lanarkshire’s Fortissat ward, taking a Tory seat.
The SNP were pushed into third by a candidate for “A Better Britain - Unionist Party”.
In Glasgow’s Cardonald ward, Jim Kavanagh defended the seat held by the late Alistair Watson.
Interim leader Alex Rowley said: “These fantastic results make it clear Labour is on the way back in Scotland.”
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