Tom Gordon
THE rivals for the Scottish Labour leadership have made their final pitches to party members ahead of voting officially opening tomorrow.
Kezia Dugdale, the 33-year-old first-term Lothians MSP tipped to succeed Jim Murphy, said she offered a “fresh start” and wanted to make the party more “ambitious for Scotland”.
In a dig at her older rival, she said: “There’s a clear choice in this leadership contest - business as usual or a new generation without the baggage of the past.
“People in Scotland are ambitious - for themselves, their family and their community.
“Labour must prove we are as ambitious as the people of Scotland.”
Underdog Ken Macintosh, the 53-year-old fourth-term MSP for Eastwood, said he offered “something different” and insisted members remained undecided.
“I want to take our party in a new direction, more collaborative, more positive and more forward looking. Under my leadership, Labour will be driven by our positive vision for Scotland’s future and not opposition to the SNP."
The winner, who will be the party’s eighth leader since 1999, will be declared on August 15.
The result of the deputy leadership contest between Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson and MSPs Richard Baker and Alex Rowley will be declared the same day.
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