KEZIA Dugdale, the favourite in the contest to become the next Scottish Labour leader, will move her party's headquarters from Glasgow to Edinburgh if she wins.
Sources say the Lothians MSP believes the switch will show Labour accepts Holyrood as the centre of political life north of the border.
Labour has been housed in Glasgow for decades: currently located in a third floor office in Bath Street, the party used to be based in rented trade union accommodation in West Regent Street.
However, the split between party staff in Glasgow and the MSP group across the M8 is believed to have created tensions and turf wars.
MSPs believe party headquarters prioritised MPs and the city council over Holyrood in the past, while former employees are said to have complained that MSPs were over-sensitive.
Following a previous review of the party, carried out by former leader Jim Murphy and MSP Sarah Boyack, Labour created a "hub" in Edinburgh to co-exist with the headquarters in Glasgow.
In practice, it is a small unit of floor space largely unused in comparison to the Bath Street office.
If Dugdale wins, the Glasgow office will become an organisational base, while Edinburgh will be the campaign nerve end.
Her rival in the leadership contest, Ken Macintosh, has also promised to re-locate the HQ to Edinburgh, making a move a certainty regardless of who wins.
He said: "What I'm trying to do is end the control of the party machine, move away from power politics, embrace the principles of devolution in modern politics and the whole idea of sharing power with the people of Scotland."
Simon Pia, who was a spin doctor for former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray, said: "It's long overdue and should have happened 15 years ago. The fact it didn't was a sign too many Labour people didn't realise Holyrood was now centre of Scottish politics, not Westminster."
Ewan Aitken, a former Labour leader on Edinburgh city council, also backed the switch: "It's a no-brainer. There is a place for spreading things around, and there's a place for being at the centre of power. In this case, the latter is what we should do. The impact Labour will have on the wider country will increase if we move to Edinburgh."
The SNP, Scottish Tory and Scottish LibDem headquarters are based in Edinburgh.
However, party sources expect the existing party staff - many of whom live in the West - will be unenthusiastic about a move.
The shift may also be awkward as Dugdale has put winning back Yes-voting Glasgow from the SNP a key priority as leader.
She said recently: "To put it bluntly, Labour won't win again without winning in Glasgow."
A spokesperson for Kezia Dugdale said: "The centre of Scottish political life is Holyrood and the Scottish Labour Party's organisation must reflect that. Under Kezia Dugdale's leadership press and policy staff and the 2016 Scottish Parliament election will be run from a party head quarters in Edinburgh. The Party would keep an office in Glasgow to support campaigning and organisational activity."
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