Editorial

After 9 years and four ‘coronations’ Labour Party members in Scotland have at last had the opportunity to vote for a leader and deputy leader of the Party in the Scottish Parliament. Unfortunately, it won’t actually change very much. It has been a lost opportunity to reach out beyond the diminishing ranks of the Party’s own membership and to connect with the concerns of thousands of Scots feeling the pressure of huge increases in the cost of living and a growing threat of unemployment.

The Campaign for Socialism supported one of its members, Bill Butler MSP for the Deputy Leadership. Bill was the only candidate who presented a clear political programme. He campaigned on basis of the policy positions adopted by the Scottish Trade Union Labour Party (STULP).

The voting involved an electoral college made up of three sections: elected members, individual party members and members of affiliated organisations such as the trade unions each carrying one third of the total vote. The results from the membership section and the section made up of individual members of affiliated organisation were much closer than might be assumed from the overall figures. The figures were distorted by the weight given to the elected members’ votes. The overall vote in the second ballot for the Leader was 57.8% to Ian Gray and 42.2% to Cathy Jamieson. Cathy won a majority in the largest section, the members of affiliated organisations, taking 51.5% of the vote. Bill Butler, standing for Deputy Leader, achieved 45% in the members section and 49% in the affiliated organisation section, but only 40% overall. Cathy won 32.5% of the elected members section and Bill 26%. Unfortunately our elected representatives carry far more voting weight - 2,000 times that of ordinary members. These are the very same MPs and MSPs who have demonstrated over the past decade that they are completely out of touch with the people they claim to represent, who have already led Labour to disaster in the Scottish elections and are likely to do even worse in the Westminster elections.

One success for the left is that a great many in the affiliated section did not follow the nominations made by two of the largest trade unions, Unite and GMB who supported the Gray/Lamont ticket. Some members will want to know why it was decided to back the candidates of the status quo and what attempts were made to gauge the political opinion of the members before nominating the two candidates.

During their campaigns all the leadership contenders’ rhetoric shifted left. All of them supported the public sector pay demands, an energy windfall tax and increasing fiscal powers for the Scottish Parliament. Ian Gray, however, was the very person who moved the abolition of the old clause 4, has supported PFI, hospital closures and the war in Iraq and is so closely tied to the Brown and Darling’s economic policies that we can assume any rhetoric was merely a temporary necessity.

We must hope that Gray and Lamont will listen to all sections of the Party and will reform the structures of the Scottish Labour Party to make them more democratic and transparent.

But we cannot rely on their good will to deliver. We will have to reach over the heads of the leadership out into wider campaigns and struggles to express a socialist voice that will be heard over the doublespeak of the SNP.

The trade unions sacrificed the right to Contemporary Resolutions at last year’s national conference. At this year’s TUC, Unite conveniently misplaced its card vote on a crucial ballot to spare Gordon Brown’s embarrassment. We to wonder just how long it will be before rank and file trade union members to say enough – being part of the Labour Party does us more harm than good?

The Left inside and outside the Labour Party now needs to reflect very seriously on how political change can happen. It is difficult to imagine a situation where the failures of capitalism are so glaring and benefits of a socialist approach so necessary. Social housing, public transport, public ownership of transport, public control of major financial institutions – who can deny that these ideas would win serious support of a vast number of Scots if only there were a credible political voice demanding them?