Scottish Labour leader warns party must learn lessons from 'devastating' defeat

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has announced a review of the party’s election campaign after its “devastating” result in Thursday’s poll.

Mr Leonard said a public engagement campaign would seek to establish why voters did not put their trust in Labour, with only one MP elected north of the border.

It comes after a meeting of the Scottish Labour executive in Glasgow at the weekend.

Mr Leonard said: “After Thursday’s devastating election result, it is crucial that we learn the lessons of our defeat.

“We owe this to Scotland’s communities, workplaces and most vulnerable people, who are now facing the prospect of five years more years of Tory Government.

“We owe this to Scotland’s communities
“We owe this to Scotland’s communities

“In the coming weeks, we will be conducting a swift evidence-based review of the election campaign and result in order to chart our way forward.

“We will lead a public engagement campaign to establish why voters, who are clearly still desperate for change, no longer feel that Scottish Labour is the vehicle for the realisation of that change.”

The party must develop a “clear constitutional offer” that wins back the confidence of voters, Mr Leonard said, after six MPs lost their Scottish seats.

He added: “Neither the status quo nor the SNP’s vision for cuts and separation offers the way forward for Scotland and we owe it to the people of Scotland to offer a clear prospectus for a transformed society and economy.

“The 2021 Scottish Parliament elections are less than 18 months away, the campaign for them starts now.

“Let us start today to win back the trust of the people.”

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