2021 Scottish Labour leadership election

The 2021 Scottish Labour Party leadership election is due to be held during 2021. It was triggered on 14 January 2021 by the resignation of Richard Leonard as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, who had led the party since 2017.

2021 Scottish Labour leadership election
9–27 February 2021
 
Candidate Monica Lennon Anas Sarwar
Leader before election

Jackie Baillie (acting)
Richard Leonard

 Elected Leader

TBD

Background

Richard Leonard was elected as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2017 when he defeated Anas Sarwar to win with 56.7% of the vote. In the 2019 European Parliament election, the party lost its two seats in European Parliament for the Scotland constituency, and in the 2019 United Kingdom general election, the party lost six of its seven Scottish MPs.[1] Scottish Labour figures including Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) had called for him to resign during 2020 over the party's poor performance in opinion polls.[2] A motion of no confidence in Leonard was proposed at the party's NEC but withdrawn due to a lack of support.[3] Leonard resigned in 2021, saying that speculation about his leadership was a distraction from the party's message.[4][5]

Procedure

On 16 January, the Scottish Executive Committee met and approved the procedure and timetable for the leadership election.[6] Candidates needed to declare their intention to run by midnight on 17 January, with nominations opening the following day. To be formally nominated, a candidate needs to be nominated by at least four of the party's 23 MSPs or by the party's only MP, Ian Murray[7]

Timetable
Date Event
18 January Nominations open
19 January Supporting nominations open; hustings period opens
20 January Latest date to join in order to vote
26 January Supporting nominations close
9 February Ballot opens
26 February Ballot closes
27 February Result announcement

Campaign

On 16 January 2021, Anas Sarwar, the party's constitution spokesperson and a candidate in the 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election, announced in an article in The Guardian that he was standing in the election, saying that the Scottish Government should focus on achieving equality rather than independence.[8] On 18 January, over a quarter of Scottish Labour councillors signed a letter endorsing Sarwar as leader.[9]

Monica Lennon, the party's health spokesperson, announced she was standing on Twitter on 17 January.[10] In 2020, she had called for the Scottish Labour Party to split from the UK-wide Labour Party.[11]

On 19 January, it was announced that both candidates had received the required nominations for them to progress to the next stage.[12]

On the same day as both candidates received the required nominations for the next stage, Lennon told The Herald that she supported Scottish Labour being the party of devo-max and believed that the party should not block a second independence referendum. She did not support a referendum being held at the current time due to the "pandemic and the need for economic recovery."[13]

On 21 January, Sarwar published an article in LabourList establishing his priorities. In the article, he called for modernisation and professionalism in campaigning and set his agenda focusing on "poverty, inequality, schools, health and jobs."[14]

Candidates
Candidate Born Political office Announced

Monica Lennon		 7 January 1981
Bellshill, Scotland		 Health spokesperson (since 2018)
MSP for Central Scotland (since 2016)
Communities spokesperson (2017–2018)		 17 January 2021[15][7]

Anas Sarwar		 14 March 1983
Glasgow, Scotland		 Constitution spokesperson (since 2020)
MSP for Glasgow (since 2016)
Deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party (2011–2014)
MP for Glasgow Central (2010–2015)		 16 January 2021[16]

Declined

The following people were speculated about as potential candidates but declined to stand.

Nominations

The table below shows the number of nominations achieved by each candidate. Both candidates have received enough nominations to proceed to the next stage.[19]

Candidate Labour MPs and MSPs
Nominations %
Anas Sarwar
17 / 24
 71%
Monica Lennon
5 / 24
 21%

List of nominations

Below is a list the MPs and MSPs who nominated each candidate. Both candidates also nominated themselves.[19]

Monica Lennon

Anas Sarwar

Endorsements

Labour politicians

Organisations

Labour politicians

Organisations

References
  1. "What now for Scottish Labour after Richard Leonard quits as leader?". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  2. Andrews, Kieran (2 September 2020). "Labour MSP breaks ranks to demand Richard Leonard's departure". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  3. "No confidence vote in Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard withdrawn". BBC News. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  4. "Richard Leonard quits as Scottish Labour leader". BBC News. 14 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  5. Rodgers, Sienna. "Richard Leonard quits as Scottish Labour leader with immediate effect". LabourList. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  6. Rodgers, Sienna. "Scottish Labour approves timetable to elect new leader by end of February". LabourList. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  7. "Monica Lennon launches bid to become next Scottish Labour leader". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  8. Helm, Toby (16 January 2021). "Anas Sarwar: 'I'll rebuild Labour party in Scotland'". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  9. Rodgers, Sienna (18 January 2021). "66 Scottish Labour councillors sign letter backing Anas Sarwar for leader". LabourList. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  10. "Monica Lennon launches bid to become next Scottish Labour leader". The Herald. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  11. "Monica Lennon to stand in Scottish Labour leadership contest". BBC News. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  12. Rodgers, Sienna. "Sarwar and Lennon win nominations needed in Scottish leadership race". LabourList. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  13. "Lennon says Labour should push for Devo Max not block Indyref2". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  14. Sarwar, Anas (21 January 2021). "My plan for how Scottish Labour will take on the SNP and the Tories". LabourList. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  15. Lennon, Monica [@MonicaLennon7] (17 January 2021). "Following discussions with party members, I have decided to put my name forward to lead the Scottish Labour Party. Our members deserve to have their say about the best way to take forward our vision for a fairer and more equal Scotland. I look forward to being considered" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. Sarwar, Anas (16 January 2021). "Scotland needs unity, not division, and that is why I want to lead Scottish Labour". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  17. "Who will replace Richard Leonard as Labour leader in Scotland?". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  18. McCall, Chris (18 January 2021). "Sarwar favourite to become Scots Labour leader but faces challenge from Lennon". Daily Record. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  19. "Scottish Leadership Election 2021". Scottish Labour. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  20. Mcnab, Scott (18 January 2021). "Anas Sarwar pledges an end to Scotland's 'old, divisive politics'". The Scotsman. Edinburgh, UK. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  21. "USDAW - Anas Sarwar MSP nominated by Usdaw to be the next leader of the Scottish Labour Party". www.usdaw.org.uk. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  22. "GMB Scotland |". www.gmbscotland.org.uk.
  23. Hutcheon, Paul (16 January 2021). "Anas Sarwar considering Scottish Labour leadership bid after vacancy created". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  24. McCall, Chris (19 January 2021). "Unite trade union endorses Monica Lennon for Scottish Labour leadership". Daily Record. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  25. "TSSA union backs Monica Lennon for Scottish Labour leadership". Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA). 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021. TSSA union has announced its support for Monica Lennon as leader of Scottish Labour party.
  26. UNISON Scotland Labour Link [@UNISONLabourSco] (25 January 2021). "As the biggest trade union in Scotland made up of 80% women members UNISON Scotland Labour Link is delighted to nominate Monica Lennon for Leader of Scottish Labour" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. @cwu_scotland (25 January 2021). "@cwu_scotland are delighted to nominate @MonicaLennon7 to be the next @scottishlabour leader. The prospect of a new vision for a better society is exciting to see. #Monica4Leader 🌹" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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