Labour's Lost Mojo
Good Morning Scotland (GMS) - aka the Derek Bateman show - is always makes for a lively and stimulating start to the weekend - for those interested in politics and current affairs.
Today one of the main topics was the contest to succeed Iain Gray as leader of the Scottish Labour party - following its catastrophic defeat earlier this year in the Scottish Parliament elections.
But the damning verdict of one of the GMS guest commentators - Angus McLeod of The Times newspaper - is that there's no one sufficiently talented amongst the current crop of Labour MSPs - to make a real fist of challenging Alex Salmond and the SNP.
In other words whatever talent Labour's got - could not fight its way out of a wet paper bag.
Which I think sums up the present position perfectly - because Labour still doesn't understand why it went down to such a terrible defeat - and why it lost the trust of the Scottish people.
Equal pay is an obvious example - where Labour-controlled councils, a Labour-led COSLA and Labour-supporting unions - turned a blind eye yo pay discrimination for years.
Things began to change when Action 4 Equality Scotland came along in August 2005 - and began to explain to low paid women workers how badly they had been let down.
By powerful Labour-led institutions - that had failed to protect their interests.
Now why did that happen?
Because all of these Labour-led, Labour-supporting institutions would say they have always believed in equal pay and equal opportunities - but that's true only in theory not in practice - to my mind anyway.
The truth is that equal pay for low paid women workers was just not a big enough political priority for these Labour institutions - despite all the rhetoric and fine words.
The Scottish teachers McCrone Agreement which cost £800 million was a bigger priority - as was the Edinburgh trams fiasco - which Labour and the Lib Dems imposed on the SNP-led Scottish minority government at a cost of £545 million.
So you pays your money and you makes your choice - and in Labour's case it has made lots of wrong choices.
The only way to turn that around is to accept and admit what a complete arse the People's Party made - on vital 'bread and butter' issues such as equal pay.
If a new party leader can do that - then the people of Scotland might just start to believe - that Labour has found its 'mojo' once again.
Today one of the main topics was the contest to succeed Iain Gray as leader of the Scottish Labour party - following its catastrophic defeat earlier this year in the Scottish Parliament elections.
But the damning verdict of one of the GMS guest commentators - Angus McLeod of The Times newspaper - is that there's no one sufficiently talented amongst the current crop of Labour MSPs - to make a real fist of challenging Alex Salmond and the SNP.
In other words whatever talent Labour's got - could not fight its way out of a wet paper bag.
Which I think sums up the present position perfectly - because Labour still doesn't understand why it went down to such a terrible defeat - and why it lost the trust of the Scottish people.
Equal pay is an obvious example - where Labour-controlled councils, a Labour-led COSLA and Labour-supporting unions - turned a blind eye yo pay discrimination for years.
Things began to change when Action 4 Equality Scotland came along in August 2005 - and began to explain to low paid women workers how badly they had been let down.
By powerful Labour-led institutions - that had failed to protect their interests.
Now why did that happen?
Because all of these Labour-led, Labour-supporting institutions would say they have always believed in equal pay and equal opportunities - but that's true only in theory not in practice - to my mind anyway.
The truth is that equal pay for low paid women workers was just not a big enough political priority for these Labour institutions - despite all the rhetoric and fine words.
The Scottish teachers McCrone Agreement which cost £800 million was a bigger priority - as was the Edinburgh trams fiasco - which Labour and the Lib Dems imposed on the SNP-led Scottish minority government at a cost of £545 million.
So you pays your money and you makes your choice - and in Labour's case it has made lots of wrong choices.
The only way to turn that around is to accept and admit what a complete arse the People's Party made - on vital 'bread and butter' issues such as equal pay.
If a new party leader can do that - then the people of Scotland might just start to believe - that Labour has found its 'mojo' once again.
