SCOTTISH Labour will reconsider its position on independence and a second referendum, a former party leadership contender has said.
Monica Lennon, who was defeated by Anas Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, also said that a split from the UK Labour party would be considered as part of a wide-ranging review of policy over the summer.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday morning, Lennon was asked if Labour needed “a better answer on the constitution rather than just constantly saying no” following their worst-ever Scottish election results, in which she lost her seat at Holyrood.
Lennon said that Scottish Labour need “better answers on everything”, going on: “Over the summer Scottish Labour is having a big review and that will ask very searching questions about what should our positions be on all of these issues.
“It's not for Andy Burnham or a Prime Minister to decide, or a leader of UK Labour, what we need to do within Scottish Labour is have more control over our own destiny, and over the summer that will be led by Anas Sarwar and [Scottish Labour deputy leader] Jackie Baillie here in Scotland.”
Asked if Scottish Labour breaking away from the UK party would be considered, Lennon said: “That's an option and really, nothing is off the table.”
In 2020, Lennon called for Scottish Labour to split from their UK bosses, saying: "If we look like a pressure group within a UK party structure, we will continue to be rejected."
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Lennon said the blame for Scottish Labour’s poor Holyrood elections results lay with the UK party.
“We were getting lots of broad support, but in the campaign we just couldn't get a hearing because of what was happening down the road, in Downing Street and Keir Starmer's government,” she said.
“Scottish Labour needs to get everyone in a room, let everyone get their frustration out, and that's a better way to do our party renewal,” Lennon added.
Following the Holyrood elections in May, the new Scottish parliament called for powers to hold a constitutional referendum to be devolved.
However, the Labour UK Government instantly rejected the proposition, saying: “Ahead of 2014 there was agreement across all parties, across civic society in Scotland and across the Scottish and UK parliaments that there should be a referendum. There is no such consensus now.”
Sarwar, who has been facing pressure over his position as Scottish Labour leader following his second consecutive Holyrood election loss, has repeatedly made clear that he does not support either a referendum or independence itself.
Paul O'Kane, a former Scottish Labour MSP who like Lennon lost his seat in the 2026 elections, has said it will be a big challenge for Sarwar to lead the party into the next Holyrood election, and asked if Labour could realistically go into the 2031 elections with the same leadership.
Asked about O’Kane’s comments, Lennon told the BBC that 2031 “is a long way away” and that Sarwar and Baillie were “the right people to lead this [policy review] because they will take responsibility for their part”.
Scottish Labour have been asked for a response.
