At Scottish Labour’s spring conference last year, Sir Keir Starmer bullishly addressed mounting discontent at his government’s performance, telling his audience: “I always said it would take time to turn this ship around.” On Friday, ahead of the Holyrood election in May, Anas Sarwar’s party will assemble again in Paisley. Sir Keir – whose time Mr Sarwar now considers up – is not expected to be on the speaking roster.
The Scottish Labour leader’s call for Sir Keir’s resignation this month was instantly interpreted through the prism of a (stillborn) Westminster coup. In truth, it was more an act of self-isolation stemming from exasperation. As they attempt to challenge the hegemony of the Scottish National party (SNP), unionist parties in Scotland must constantly look over their shoulders and worry about what London is doing. But at the time of the general election, no one could have anticipated the chaotic sequence of unpopular policies and U-turns – now compounded by the Mandelson scandal – which appears to have quashed hopes of a Scottish Labour renaissance at Holyrood.
