Keir Starmer expresses confidence in Scottish Labour’s Richard Leonard

UK Labour leader Keir Starmer has expressed confidence in Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard and said he hopes that the party will “pull together” ahead of the Holyrood elections taking place in May 2021.

The Scottish Labour leader has recently come under criticism from his own side, with James Kelly quitting the shadow cabinet in protest at his leadership and several Labour MSPs calling for his resignation.

The internal battle came to a head last weekend, when Labour’s Scottish executive committee (SEC) considered a motion of no confidence in Leonard. The proposal was ultimately withdrawn during the special meeting.

Responding to the motion being withdrawn, the Scottish Labour leader called on his party to “stand together” and “stand with the Scottish people at a time when risks caused by pandemic are rising again”.

Starmer is in Edinburgh today in his first in-person visit since becoming Labour Party leader in April this year. He is visiting research facilities to discuss cutting-edge research into Covid-19, air pollution and cardiovascular health.

Asked by journalists this afternoon whether Leonard had his confidence, he replied: “Yes, I support Richard Leonard, and that’s why we’ll be working together on what we need to do together over the coming weeks and months into the May elections.”

On Ian Murray, who was present at the SEC meeting last week and serves as the Shadow Secretary for Scotland, Starmer said: “Ian Murray is a first-class member of my shadow cabinet, widely respected and doing a really good job.”

The UK leader emphasised that his leadership campaign was partly based on the principle of party unity, saying: “That’s among the reasons I am here in Scotland today… because what I want to see here in Scotland is our party to pull together and to focus on the job at hand.”

Both Starmer and Leonard have toughened Labour’s line against a fresh Scottish independence referendum in recent weeks and months. The UK leader this afternoon dismissed the idea of a “further divisive referendum” taking place now.

Writing for The Scotsman today, Starmer urged governments across the UK not to engage in a “blame-game over testing” and urged them to “get a grip, focus on the job in hand and work together to defeat this virus”.

He concluded: “I am in no doubt that we have a mountain to climb, both at the next UK general election and next year’s Holyrood elections. But I am confident of the platform Labour will enter those elections on.

“Our priority will not be another divisive independence referendum – it will be properly funding our National Health Service, protecting jobs and investing in our children’s future. Those are the priorities of the Scottish people, and they are my priorities as leader of the Labour Party.”

Leonard has recently focused his efforts on promoting Scottish Labour proposals for setting up a state-run National Care Service and for implementing a Scottish Green New Deal that would create 130,000 new jobs.