Secretive Ballots (14/12/14)
The breakdown of the vote in the Electoral College follows. Each of the 3 Sections in the Electoral College is weighted equally, and makes up 33.33% of the overall vote.
Leadership
Sarah Boyack MSP: 9.24% of overall vote
Section 1 (MPs, MSPs/MEPs): 4.22%
Section 2 (Members): 2.3%
Section 3 (Affiliates): 2.73%
Neil Findlay MSP: 34.99% of the overall vote
Section 1 (MPs, MSPs/MEPs) : 6.75%
Section 2 (Members): 10.89%
Section 3 (Affiliates): 17.34%
Jim Murphy MP: 55.77% of the overall vote
Section 1 (MPs, MSPs/MEPs): 22.36%
Section 2 (Members): 20.14%
Section 3 (Affiliates): 13.26%
Now what's interesting is that, just like the trade unions, Labour is trying to get away with publishing only the percentage figures - not the actual numbers of votes cast in each section of the electoral college.
Which hides, for example, the total number of ballot papers issued to Scottish Labour Party members (Section 2) and the number of ballot papers issued to affiliated organisations such as the trade unions (Section 3).
In other words the turnout in the ballot remains a secret which is a very strange way for a modern political party to behave, if you ask me. So while Jim Murphy has recorded a decisive victory, Scottish Labour remains on the back foot by being so defensive and secretive about the percentage turnout amongst individual party members (Section 2) and trade unions (Section 3).
And this matters because the trade union bosses opposed Jim Murphy's election as leader tooth and nail with Unite, in particular, claiming a victory for Murphy would be a disaster for Scottish Labour.
But are union bosses representing the views of a narrow activist base or the views of ordinary, everyday union members?
If the turnout in the trade union section turns out to be spectacularly low, then you have your answer - Britain's union bosses (the Bubs) are unrepresentative when it comes to representing the interests of their own grassroots members.
PS Jim Murphy should be congratulated on winning both Sections 1 and 2 of the electoral college because Johann Lamont (Murphy's immediate Scottish predecessor) and Ed Miliband (Labour's current UK leader) won their respective crowns only by securing a big majority of the votes in the trade union section (Section 3).
