THE contest for the Labour Party leadership in Scotland has sparked into life after Glasgow South MP Tom Harris declared his interest in taking over from Iain Gray.
Mr Harris said he had some “very important” things to say about the direction of the party that would not go down well in some quarters, but a leader was needed who was “not going to leave the party in its comfort zone because that is where you lose”.
He said it was “truly bizarre and very damaging to the party” that there had not been a leadership campaign almost four months on from Labour’s disastrous Holyrood election and Mr Gray’s announcement that he would stand down next month.
Mr Harris said he was not convinced that other names about whom there has been speculation as Mr Gray’s replacement would challenge the party’s assumptions and put it in a position to appeal beyond its current base.
These include deputy leader at Holyrood and Glasgow Pollok MSP Johann Lamont, Eastwood MSP Ken Macintosh and Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie.
However, Mr Harris said a final decision on whether he would stand depended on whether East Renfrewshire MP and Shadow Defence Secretary Jim Murphy, whose review of the Scottish party is due to be completed in a few weeks, would stand.
He said: “Part of the reason I have said I am considering standing is I want to put a bit of pressure on Jim to throw his hat into the ring. If he doesn’t, and if other big-hitters like Douglas Alexander are not interested, then all I can say at the moment is I would be very interested in making a fight of it.”
Although Mr Murphy would be a popular choice, he told The Herald in June he had set his sights on becoming a Cabinet minister in the next Labour Government at Westminster.
Mr Harris said he did not want to go further than confirm he was “actively considering” going for the job until the results and recommendations of the review were known and added that he did not think it would be helpful to the party if the first person to announce his candidacy was an MP rather than an MSP.
However, he did not believe an MP leading the party in Scotland would cause friction.
“What we would have to bear in mind is that whoever becomes the Scottish leader, even as an MP, would owe his first allegiance to the Scottish party and not the UK party and that would have to be made very clear. I do not think that is insurmountable.
“I do not believe there is any great contradiction in looking after Scotland’s interests and the UK’s interests.”
Senior backbencher Hugh Henry, the holder of The Herald’s Politician Of The Year award, said the party should not be “precious” about the new leader’s background.
He added: “We need to get the right person, wherever they are from.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said Mr Gray would stay on to ensure a smooth transition.
A timetable for the election will be announced after the review is published.
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