Two South Lanarkshire politicians have entered the race for the Scottish Labour leadership. Former South Lanarkshire Council leader and recently elected MSP Joe Fagan, alongside returning MSP Monica Lennon, have both announced their intentions to stand in the party's leadership contest.
Joe Fagan's Candidacy
Joe Fagan, who was first elected to Holyrood in May representing the South Scotland region and remains a councillor in East Kilbride, is highlighting his record as council leader. He said: “I know my campaign is bold, but continuity won’t cut it.”
Fagan told the Hamilton Advertiser he wanted to “shake the place up” when heading to Holyrood in May. In his leadership announcement, he stated: “Scottish Labour needs to learn lessons from where we have won, not just where we have lost. [New prime minister] Andy Burnham’s by-election victory in Makerfield and our own successes in South Lanarkshire show that Labour can win back trust when we are rooted in communities and serious about changing people’s lives.”
He added: “As council leader I worked across party lines to make swimming free for South Lanarkshire’s under-16s, to cut the cost of living and deliver the best-paid homecare workforce in the country. I am not here to wait around. As my track record shows, I am here to get things done.”
Monica Lennon's Bid
Monica Lennon, a former Central Scotland MSP and Hamilton councillor, will return to the Scottish Parliament after its summer recess as an MSP for the Glasgow region. She announced her leadership bid last week.
Lennon said her party “has gone backwards in every Holyrood election” and that she is standing “because I can’t stand by and witness our terminal decline”. Launching her candidacy, she remarked: “Crisis demands courage. This is the fightback of our lives. We can drift into irrelevance, or we can unite, reform, and win again.”
She called for a “completely new style of leadership” and stressed: “We need a new dawn for devolution. That means taking power out of Westminster, but also taking it out of Holyrood to hand directly to our underfunded councils and communities.”
Leadership Election Details
North-East Scotland MSP Michael Marra also plans to stand. Nominations open on Monday, August 3, with members voting between August 28 and September 17. The winner will be declared on September 19.
