Murphy in Labour victory vow as poll predicts a meltdown Labour leadership frontrunner Jim Murphy has pledged to end Labours losing streak as a poll says the number of MPs in Scotland could be slashed from 41 to four at next years General Election. LEADERSHIP BID: Jim Murphy voices his views in Glasgow on his fight to be Scottish Labour leader. Announcing his candidacy, Mr Murphy said: I dont care whether youre left-wing or right-wing, New Labour or Old Labour - its losing Labour I want to get rid of. The East Renfrewshire MP was speaking before Labour leader Ed Miliband attended a gala dinner organised by the party in Glasgow. Mr Miliband was barracked by about 200 pro-independence supporters as he arrived. He said he planned to work shoulder to shoulder with the new leader, telling colleagues he would fight with every fibre of my being over these months to show how we can change Scotland ... and change Britain. But Mr Miliband again stayed silent on former leader Johann Lamonts allegation the Scottish party was just a branch office of the UK party in London - a claim Mr Murphy denied. At the annual event, current interim leader Anas Sarwar MP said he planned to stand down as deputy leader. The scale of the challenge Mr Murphy, the Shadow International Development Secretary, could face if he is elected became clearer with a new poll. An Ipsos Mori survey of 1,000 people for STV predicted a dramatic fall for Labour and a stunning rise for the SNP, increasing its share of Westminster seats from six to 54 out of Scotlands total of 59. Mr Murphy made clear he would be firmly in charge if he won the leadership on December 13 and that the Scottish party would be more autonomous and distinctive. He will officially launch his campaign tomorrow and is expected to resign from the Shadow Cabinet soon. He made clear he wants to strike a different tone and concentrate not on shouting at the SNP but on listening to the Scottish people. The 47-year-old MP stressed that the party had to take much more responsibility for its own decisions. Those who know me know I am big enough and ugly enough not to be pushed around ... I am going to unite the Scottish Labour Party. I will decide as Scottish Labour leader who we appoint, how we hire, how we fire and all those sorts of big issues, he added. Mr Sarwar, speaking of his decision to stand down, said: I think it is right we have a concurrent leadership and deputy leadership election. Nominations for the leadership officially open today and close on Tuesday. Voting begins on November 17, with the result declared on December 13. Other candidates are MSPs Sarah Boyack, the former Holyrood enterprise minister, and Neil Findlay, the partys health spokesman and a left-winger. Commenting on the survey, John Curtice of Strathclyde University noted that if it was the case the Nationalists were experiencing a surge in support for Westminster, then Labour seats could fall like nine pins. He added: If there were to be serious losses, then Labours chances of emerging as the largest party at Westminster would be significantly diminished. The prospects and careers of every single Labour MP depends on whoever is leader of the Scottish Labour Party delivering in Scotland. The poll found 52 per cent of people questioned in Scotland said they would vote for the SNP. Support for Labour fell to 23 per cent while that for the Tories was 10 per cent and the LibDems and Greens were both on six. In 2010, Labour polled 42 per cent of the Scottish vote, with the SNP on 20. In terms of Westminster seats, such figures would mean the Nationalists taking 54, Labour four, the LibDems one and the Tories none, according to a forecast by the Electoral Calculus website. First Minister-elect Nicola Sturgeon said the SNP had the power to send a shockwave through Westminster. Comments Peter Piper, Ayrshire Policies. Its a word totally missing in what Murphy talks about, which was all about the Labour Party, and how he can hire and fire, and big issues such as that, but nothing at all about policies for Scotland. Dont policies matter any more to the Scottish Branch of the Labour Party? ronald richardson, hartlepool Peter Piper, Ayrshire I think you have put your finger on the problem Peter. Murphys campaign strategy will be all smoke and mirrors with supporting news reports and friendly TV interviews. The focus will be on repair and reuniting the party but there will be no swing to the left and no new radical policies. Plenty of propaganda but London control quietly reinforced in the background. Assuming that he wins as New Labour Leader (Scottish Branch Office) Steve McKay, Sweden Peter Piper, Ayrshire Hard to talk about policies when they are much the same as the Condems - yes to austerity, yes to trident, yes to privatisation of the NHS, yes to student fees, yes to destruction of universal benefits etc etc. Labour are failing in Scotland for the simple reason that everyone can plainly see they do not have the interests of the Scottish electorate at heart - a problem the Tories have had for decades. It was pointed out hundreds of times on this forum that Scottish Labours failure to support independence would be their downfall - even if they came out for true Devo-max tomorrow they would not be trusted to deliver. Anybody interested in a social democratic future for Scotland is very wisely switching their allegiance to the SNP, which is slowly but surely delivering a very different political reality in Scotland from the rest of the UK, or the Greens and SSP. Vicky Pritchard I think Mr Murphy has been watching too much of The Apprentice if he thinks hiring and firing is all it takes. Paul Cochrane, Paisley Its losing Labour I want to get rid of. Dont we all. Patricia Calder, GLASGOW The only person laughing harder at Mr Murphy than the YES campaigners must be Mr Cameron. What a brilliant stroke of luck. With the help of the Labour party Cameron gets to keep hold of Scotlands purse strings, He also gets rid of the majority of Scottish Labour seats in Westminster. GRAHAM HANSON, GALASHIELS The issue is not about who leads or who is deputy. The issue is the Smith commission. There is a brief window of opportunity for Labour to step in and offer devo max. Full internal. Now. They do not even need to deliver. Remember that vow? Just promise. Get some breathing space before next May to do some damage limitation. Otherwise the price of continued failure might be another five years of Tory government. The only other game in town might be an alliance with the SNP at Westminster to keep them out. You could see that playing well in Holyrood , not to mention the town halls. Nobody has mentioned the latter. In May the whole political landscape of the UK could change. Imagine Ed, the SNP in control of most Scottish councils, plus the Scottish parliament and sending even 20 MPs to Westminster. The opposition benches might be more comfortable than the government ones.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 11:28:13 +0000
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