RICHARD Leonard has pledged to stay on as leader of Scottish Labour – insisting his party will oppose a second independence referendum at next year’s Holyrood election.
Mr Leonard has come under internal pressure – with polls indicating Labour are set to stay in third place at May’s election, still behind both the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives.
But the party leader has stressed that Labour’s “clear” position remains to oppose a second independence referendum, which Nicola Sturgeon has indicated there will be commitment to in the SNP’s election manifesto.
Speaking to ITV Border, Mr Leonard said: "We are clearly saying that we are opposed to a second independence referendum.
"The entire focus and dedication of the next Scottish Parliament and the next Scottish Government should be on rebuilding the economy and revitalising our public services.
READ MORE: New poll puts support for Scottish independence at 55%, flipping 2014 result
"It should be looking at how we can build a better care system, which has been exposed as being fragmented and weak.”
He added: "These are the priorities for the next five years - it's not independence, it's not constitutional change. We should not get bogged down in a debate for the next five in a wrangle between an SNP and Tory administration.
"What I'm saying is the position of the Scottish Labour is clear - we are going into next year's election saying we are standing on a platform saying we are opposing a second independence referendum."
Mr Leonard also insisted he has no intention of standing down as party leader.
He said: "I was elected less than three years ago with a strong mandate from the members to lead the party into next year's election.
"We had a period where we had five leaders in six years and the Tories have now had three leaders in one year in Scotland.
"I think that people are looking for consistency, they are looking for stability, they are looking for a clear message from the Scottish Labour party and I intend to get out there to campaign for every vote."
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