Trouble with the Curve



'Trouble with the Curve' is the name of a Clint Eastwood movie about baseball; not one of his best in my view, a bit too sentimental and lacking originality if you ask me.

But trouble with the curve is a good description of the Scottish Labour Party these days, as it struggles to remain relevant in Scotland after the recent independence referendum.     

The Sunday Herald reports, for example, that at long last the People's Party is to consider moving towards One Member One Vote (OMOV) for future leadership elections.

Now if OMOV had been used in the last round of Labour leadership elections, the irony is that neither Ed Miliband not Johann Lamont would be in their current jobs - Ed having lost the popular vote to his brother David and Johann to fellow Holyrood MSP Ken Macintosh. 

As on so many other issues Labour's problem is getting ahead of the curve politically speaking, making the running and providing the kind of leadership that excites members and potential supporters.

Yet on increased powers for the Scottish Parliament, the Labour Party's proposals were the most timid by far and were made to look unambitious by even the Scottish Tories, which takes some doing of course.      


Civil war looms as Lamont backs devolution for Scottish Labour

JOHANN Lamont yesterday won support for a major review of Scottish Labour's relationship with Ed Miliband's UK party.
Johann Lamont has secured a review of Labour's structures, suggesting her position as Scottish leader is secure for now from challengers such as Jim Murphy, below
Johann Lamont has secured a review of Labour's structures, suggesting her position as Scottish leader is secure for now from challengers such as Jim Murphy, below
The probe is expected to consider devolving control of MPs' selection contests to Scotland, a controversial issue that could spark a civil war with her Westminster colleagues.
It will also look at introducing one-member, one-vote for future leadership contests north of the Border.
Labour was on the winning side in this month's referendum campaign, but victory was soured after the party lost support in its heartlands.
Of the four local authority areas won by the Yes campaign, two were Labour citadels: Glasgow and North Lanarkshire. 
Yes won 53.5% in Glasgow and 51.1% in North Lanarkshire.
The losses triggered a bout of infighting and mutterings about the leadership of MSP Lamont, with senior party figures wanting her to make way for Westminster MP Jim Murphy.
However, Lamont was on the front foot yesterday in proposing a review that could lead to a shake-up of her party.
At a meeting of the Scottish Labour executive committee, she secured agreement for a rethink of the party's structures that will lead to further devolution from the UK party to Scotland.
Following Labour's heavy defeat to the SNP at the 2011 Holyrood ­election, an organisational review led by Murphy and MSP Sarah Boyack created the post of Scottish Labour leader, a role secured by Lamont.
However, Lamont feels it is time to have a second investigation, which will be undertaken by party chairman Jamie Glackin as well as an MSP and an MP.
Last year's Westminster selection scandal in Falkirk - in which dozens of new members were recruited to the party by the trade union Unite in a bid to help a potential candidate - exposed how Scottish Labour controls selections to Holyrood, but not to Westminster.
Although the remit was not finalised yesterday, the review will examine handing the power for all Scottish MP selections to the party north of the Border.
One insider said: "The MPs won't be happy about this at all, but it is a legacy of Unite's behaviour in Falkirk. It is long overdue."
The rules for electing Lamont's eventual successor will also be considered.
Miliband used the Falkirk ­ debacle to replace an electoral college system with one-member, one-vote for electing the UK Labour leader. The change did not apply to the Scottish leader, an anomaly the probe will examine.
Scottish Labour councillors also pay a portion of their salary to the party, cash that currently goes south. A source said the review would look at keeping the money in Scotland.
However, it is the selection of MPs that will trigger the biggest row.
Although Lamont is the leader of all elected representatives in Scotland, some MPs still have a dismissive attitude towards Holyrood.
A senior Labour source said the reform would be "symbolic" and bring MPs under the microscope of the party in Scotland.
Yesterday's agreement by the party's executive appears to signal that Lamont is safe in her job in the short term.
Labour's conference in Manchester last week was marred by briefings against Lamont by MPs and admirers of Murphy.
One Murphy ally is believed to have been caught bad mouthing Lamont and is now said to be "in hiding".
In a newspaper interview ­yesterday, Lamont said: "The next phase is 2016, and yes I want to be First Minister because I believe I have the life experience and I've got a commitment to change. I'm excited by the fact that having got past the referendum, that debate is so alive and so current."
She said of the Murphy rumours: "I've spoken to Jim and he doesn't know why it's happening either. He was very supportive."
However, one senior party figure was dismissive of Lamont's review, branding it "desperate".
He said: "The prevailing view is that we need a change at the top, not a review that tinkers with organisational change. She must go and go quickly."
A Scottish Labour spokesman said: "We will continue to learn lessons from the referendum and create a modern party ready to represent the people of Scotland."
SNP MSP James Dornan said: "With policies like cutting child benefit in real terms and promises to maintain Tory austerity plans, it is no wonder that Labour in Scotland is desperate to distance themselves from their own party's policies.
"People in Scotland's patience with Labour has run out after their referendum alliance with the Tories, which is why an opinion poll last week put support for the SNP at 49% and over 40,000 new members have joined the SNP since the referendum."

Labour Loser Wins Again (18 December 2014)



The new leader of the Scottish Labour party - Johann Lamont - has not been elected by individual Labour party members.

In the individual member section of Labour's barmy electoral college - the votes cast were as follows:

Tom Harris - 3.444%
Johann Lamont - 12.183%
Ken Macintosh - 17.707%

Total - 33.33%

Now the reason that the total adds up to 33.33% instead of 100% - is that party members have only one-third of the votes - which sounds completely bonkers because it is completely bonkers.

But in most other political parties this would have produced the following result:

Tom Harris - 10%
Joahann Lamont - 37%
Ken Macintosh - 53%

Total - 100%

So Ken Macintosh won an overall majority in the ballot of individual Labour party members in Scotland - of whom there are less than 20,000 these days.

And no wonder because they don't even get to elect their own leader.

In the Alice in Wonderland world of the Labour party two more sections of the 'electoral college' come into play - one for parliamentarians (MSPs and MPs) and the other for trade unions.

So out of the total number of ballot papers sent out - well over 300,000 according to Labour - less than 20,000 are for individual Labour party members - 100 or so are for MSPs and MPs - and around 300,000 are for non-Labour party members in the trade unions.

Which means that 20,000 votes - has the same value as 100 votes - has the same value as 300,000 votes - or to put it plainly some votes in the Labour party are much more equal than others.

Not everyone votes of course which distorts the picture even further - but the turnout figures have still to be released for each section - and will make interesting reading at some point.

Ironically, Labour's new deputy leader in Scotland - Anas Sarwar - has been elected by ordinary party members who voted for him by a majority of 61% - despite a trade union campaign to elect one of his rivals.

So Scottish Labour has ended up in exactly the same position as the UK Labour party - they have a new leader - but one who has been rejected by ordinary party members. 

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