Hugh Henry: Scottish Labour's fall from grace started long before the referendum in 2014

While the financial crisis of 2008 accentuated our decline, that decline had actually started earlier. So when Richard Leonard and Jeremy Corbyn talk of change and a different direction, they are reflecting the reality of political life in this country. The Scottish Labour Party is at a crossroads. Does it grasp the momentum created by Jeremy Corbyn and the UK Labour Party to offer hope and change or does it take the route which says all it takes is a different face but essentially the same message?

Richard Leonard understands what's bothering ordinary Scots. His trade union experience has kept him in touch with the lives of ordinary working women and men right across Scotland. He knows they're angry and want a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Richard Leonard offers the determination, the conviction, the vision and the ideas which can deliver this.

Richard’s campaign has been based on the need for change and, by that, he means change in Scotland not just in Scottish Labour. He knows that more of the same is not good enough and he knows that the country needs more than machine politics. I'm impressed with his passion, his integrity and his belief that Scotland can change for the better.

Voters are often understandably cynical about politicians who preach one thing for the public but then do something different in their private lives. With Richard Leonard you will get what you see, a leader who is both principled and consistent and who has shown that in his actions. He voted for Jeremy Corbyn when that wasn't the mainstream view in Scottish Labour. He stood by Jeremy Corbyn when a number of Labour MSP's called for Corbyn to go, less than a year after winning a 60% mandate from members.

Richard has consistently called for greater public ownership of essential public services. He’s right to say that the profits generated by these services should be retained for public benefit. It's not just a campaign slogan for him. He has also been a long-standing campaigner against poverty and inequality. As a trade union organiser he fought against low pay, taking on employers and shareholders who tried to hide behind excuses to avoid paying a living wage.

I identify completely with Richard Leonard's passionate commitment to make sure that Scottish education is equipped to give every child the opportunity to fulfil their true potential. It's a damning indictment of this country that where you live and your family's income can still be a determinant of your educational outcome. It's wrong that parents can still buy privilege in education while our comprehensive system is denied the resources to deliver a first class education for all. Rightly the Labour Party has always been proud of its commitment to equality in education and we must deliver that in practice.

Richard Leonard is also a realist. He knows that to provide good quality public services you need to have the money to pay for them. That's why he wants a fairer and more progressive income tax system. But it's more than that. Richard Leonard is right to back the UK Labour Party's determination to crack down on tax evasion and tax dodgers who invest in companies located in tax havens.

There is no doubt that there is a mood for change in Scotland and across the UK. Voters know that something better is possible. They know we live in an ill divided society with wealth increasingly concentrated in the hands of millionaires. The slogan "for the many not the few" has caught the public imagination. Scottish Labour now has the chance to elect a Leader who can take that slogan forward; one who has the passion, the principles, the values and policies to make it a reality. We have the chance to elect someone who can work in partnership with Jeremy Corbyn on a platform for change and to have a leadership team which believes in what they say.

I believe Richard Leonard is the Leader that Scottish Labour needs. More importantly he is the Leader that ordinary Scots need to reignite hope and deliver change.