Removal of general secretary was yet another interference by London Labour in Scottish party business
Yesterday, the SKWAWKBOX reported and MSP Neil Findlay confirmed that Labour’s UK leadership had forced out Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard, whose resignation was announced yesterday – a move by the English party that will hugely damage Labour in the eyes of Scottish voters. Leonard’s resignation came after Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner and acting general secretary David Evans were told by wealthy potential donors that they would only contribute if Leonard was removed.
But the SKWAWKBOX can reveal that, according to senior sources in both the English and Scottish parties, Leonard was not the first senior Scottish Labour figure deposed by those at the top of the English hierarchy.
Those sources say that the departure of Michael Sharpe, who announced in December that he was stepping down as Scottish general secretary, was likewise engineered by Starmer’s ‘gang’ so that he could be replaced by someone more acceptable to them.
English interference in Scottish politics is likely to be as toxic to Labour’s electability in Scotland as Labour figures standing with Tories during the independence referendum proved to be – or for that matter Starmer’s insistence that Scots should not have another opportunity to vote to leave the UK.
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