Falkirk MP Euan Stainbank has backed Monica Lennon to become the next leader of Scottish Labour, arguing that her values are understood by the Scottish public and that her record is built on those values.
Writing for the Record, Stainbank said no one he met on the doorstep during the May election needed persuading that the SNP's delivery after nearly two decades in government had been underwhelming. He noted that even if the SNP can still form a government in one of Scotland's two parliaments, their long years of undisputed dominance are over, and they are miles away from recovering their past levels of support.
Labour's electoral setback
Stainbank acknowledged that no political party can claim a decisive victory after losing so many votes, and that Scottish Labour must own the fact that they lost the most important election since devolution. He said that in the last two years, the public had heard a critique of the SNP Government's failures without a sufficiently transparent plan for how Labour intended to change things for the better.
At a UK level, he said Labour was too timid in confronting the mistakes of Keir Starmer's Government, such as the cut to Winter Fuel that defined the early time in government and the failure to intervene to prevent the Grangemouth refinery closing.
Lennon's record and values
Stainbank highlighted Lennon's successful leadership of the fight for the Period Poverty Act, despite SNP MSPs and Ministers seeking to frustrate her efforts. He also praised her passion for holding those damaging the environment to account through establishing a new offence of Ecocide, and her understanding that schools, hospitals and services can be repaired through the tax levers available in Scotland.
He said that even if some in the party do not wish to hear it, members should be given the chance to vote for or against what Lennon has to offer as leader.
Call for party democracy
With nominations closing soon, Stainbank spoke directly to his Scottish Labour colleagues in elected office, saying the time until the close of nominations is a test of the resilience of the party's democracy. He said it is a test of whether they are willing to listen to each other before attempting to get Scots to give them another hearing.
He concluded that members must be allowed to test and challenge the candidates, their views and positions, and that he hopes they choose to trust Scottish Labour members with that responsibility.
