Scottish matters

The crushing result for Labour in Scotland has – perhaps – gone slightly under the radar.

While the loss of seats in Wales and England felt more precipitous, the fall in support for the Party in Scotland has much longer roots going back before it was supercharged by the divisions exposed at the 2014 independence referendum. Thus the falling back of Labour in Scotland has been slower and more ‘baked in’.

But a long term decline (arrested briefly at the 2024 general election) should still be an existential worry for the Party. It still means that vast numbers of Scottish voters are not convinced that Labour are the party that shares their values, or that they believe Scottish Labour are best placed to deliver on them. In fact a YouGov demographic report says that only 8% of those who voted ‘yes’ to independence in the referendum voted for Labour in May.

READ MORE: ‘The moral foundations of Scottish Labour’s Flip-Flop-Flip’

Given the litany of failures of the SNP at Holyrood, that is unacceptable. Given the scandals that have beset the nationalists and continue to rumble on, Labour’s inability to win back these voters is a stark warning. If we cannot beat the SNP under these conditions, when – and how – can we?

Scottish Labour is undertaking a review  following the election. But there are reports that some are worried that this will be simply an exercise in excuses – with fingers pointed only at Kier Starmer, and conditions closer to home ignored.

There is no doubting that the unpopularity of the UK government played a significant role in Scottish Labour’s defeat. But it is not the only factor. If it were this decline would not be so long and ongoing. If it were, Sarwar’s high profile intervention calling for Starmer to step down would have had more of an impact. So painful and difficult questions must be answered much closer to home and in Westminster.

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How can Scottish Labour defy the sense that they are treated like a branch office? Is that something that Scottish Labour alone can change or does there need to be national change in the way Labour is run in the nations and regions? Does what happens in this Scottish review stay in Scotland or are there lessons there for all of us? Is Scottish Labour going it alone the answer as some are calling for? 

There is always a complexity about writing about Scottish politics from London. If we don’t do so, we ignore a vital part of our movement. But when we do, there are questions about either interfering from afar or lacking the requisite cultural knowledge to truly understand the specific cultural currents that affect Scottish politics.

As someone who has always believed in a ‘bottom up’ approach to politics I recognise this charge. It is not for me to tell Scottish Labour what the answers are to what ails them. But as someone who cares deeply about Scotland and the union, I do not believe we should ‘wheesht’ when it comes to LabourList’s role in examining the Party in Scotland.

For Labour to be truly a party for all the nations and regions we need to strengthen our relationship with voters everywhere. We need to lift every rock to examine what lies beneath from Lands End to John O’Groats. And we need to support our Scottish colleagues and comrades as they do this vital work. A Scottish Labour review can only be led by Scots. But it matters to all of us. And we should all care that it is as robust as possible so that its lessons are as sharp and effective as possible – for Scotland and for all of us. 

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