The Scottish Labour Party was right to re-affirm its position on the Union but is wrong on federalism. Since 2014 Scottish politics has been engulfed in a bitter feud over the constitutional future of Scotland with a strong emphasis on independence which continues to dominate the country’s political narrative.

There is no denying that following the 2014 independence referendum the Scottish Labour Party has been on a downward trajectory. In 2015 the party suffered a huge defeat at the hands of the SNP with the loss of 48 MPs, which some political commentators suggested was a direct result of the Better Together campaign and in 2016 was replaced by the Scottish Conservatives Party in Holyrood as the official opposition.

Fast forward four years and following the 2019 General Election the Scottish Labour Party is back down to one MP. Many critics tend to make out that the core failure of the party or the reason for its poor electoral performance is largely down to its position on the Union and often put forward a narrative that if the Scottish Labour Party adopted a pro-independence stance then the party would return to government in a newly formed independent Scotland.

After what will be 14 years in opposition for the Scottish Labour Party it’s easy to see how some people could lean towards the idea that if the Labour Party in Scotland became more pro-independence it would somehow reverse the party’s electoral misfortunes. This was certainly the case after the 2019 election when some senior Scottish Labour Party politicians briefed the media and passionately spoke about the need to have a full independent Labour Party that would vote in line with its UK counterpart and that Scottish MPs would ultimately take the whip from the Scottish Labour Party.

Some would argue that this is the way forward, but others could describe this as nothing more than a kneejerk reaction.

If the Labour Party in Scotland pursued that course of action it would be setting itself on a populist collision course with the electorate which would result in much of the party membership looking to support a pro-Union party. In this scenario either the Liberal Democrats or dare I say it the Scottish Conservatives Party would benefit to the detriment of the Scottish Labour Party.

Last week the Scottish Labour Party was right to re affirm its pro-Union stance ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election after years of confused messaging about the party’s stance on the single most important issue in Scottish politics. But it is wrong on advocating federalism as an alternative or as a stop gap policy to independence.

Instead the Scottish Labour Party has a real opportunity to shape the political narrative and convey to the people of Scotland what its vision is within the current constitutional framework whilst simultaneously pursuing an agenda for more powers, otherwise known as devo max.

Simply put this boils down to the type of society a progressive Scottish Labour Party would want to oversee for the people of Scotland. It could take a leaf out of both the New Labour Party win of 1997 and the Clement Attlee government of 1945 where they were elected on a progressive manifesto which was about future jobs, future homes, future opportunities, future prosperity and the future health and wellbeing of the nation which is likely to resonate with the Scottish people as we get through the current coronavirus pandemic.

Clarity of message in politics is everything and ensuring that the message is understood is paramount. Otherwise a confused electorate will result in people switching off and not understanding what is being proposed and ultimately not voting for that party.

In my opinion this was the biggest failure with the Scottish Labour Party that led to the party’s downfall over the last 14years, as people would often say I know what you used to stand for but I don’t know what you stand for now. A worrying remark that too many Labour Party activists have heard over the last few years.

The party didn’t effectively communicate or articulate what it stood for and it seemed to be that in the face of a populist nationalist movement and government, the Scottish Labour Party was caught between a rock and a hard place with regard to the constitutional

question.

Over the last few years, the Scottish Labour Party has tinkered around the edges on the constitutional debate that seemed to confuse the electorate and their lies the main issue over federalism.

Ask anybody on the doorstep what do you think federalism is and you will get many different answers, ask people what do you mean by devolution and people will tell you it means devolved powers to a devolved administration and ask anybody what is meant by independence and everyone will tell you that independence is about making decisions on your own.

I suspect that after the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the Scottish Labour Party will be having another leadership contest and will fall into the same trap over the constitutional debate. I hope for its sake it doesn’t.

Barrie Cunning is the Managing Director of Pentland Communications and a former Scottish Labour Party Parliamentary candidate.