The 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election was triggered on 14 January 2021 by the resignation of Richard Leonard as leader of the

Scottish Labour Party Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is repres ...

, who had led the party since 2017. Two candidates were nominated,

Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...

and Monica Lennon. Ballots opened on 9 February and closed on 26 February. Sarwar was elected as leader on 27 February, winning 57.6% of the vote to Lennon's 42.4%.

Background

Richard Leonard was elected as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

when he defeated

to win with 56.7% of the vote. In the

2019 European Parliament election The 2019 European Parliament election was held in the European Union (EU) between 23 and 26 May 2019. It was the ninth parliamentary election since the first direct elections in 1979. A total of 751 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) we ...

, the party lost its two seats in European Parliament for the Scotland constituency, and in the 2019 general election, the party lost six of its seven Scottish MPs. Scottish Labour figures including Labour Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) had called for him to resign during 2020 over the party's poor performance in opinion polls. A motion of no confidence in Leonard was proposed at the party's SEC (Scottish Executive Committee) but withdrawn due to a lack of support. Leonard resigned on 14 January 2021, saying that speculation about his leadership was a distraction from the party's message.

Procedure

On 16 January, the Scottish Labour Executive Committee met and approved the procedure and timetable for the leadership election. Candidates needed to declare their intention to run by midnight on 17 January, with nominations opening the following day. To be formally nominated, a candidate needs to be nominated by at least four of the party's 23 MSPs or by the party's only MP, Ian Murray.

Timetable

Campaign

On 16 January 2021,

, the party's constitution spokesperson and a candidate in the

2017 Scottish Labour leadership election Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number) * One of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017, 2117 Science * Chlorine, a halogen in the periodic table * 17 Thetis, an asteroid in the asteroid belt Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (America ...

, announced in an article in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that he was standing in the election, saying that the Scottish Government should focus on achieving equality rather than independence. On 18 January, over a quarter of Scottish Labour councillors signed a letter endorsing Sarwar as leader. Monica Lennon, the party's health spokesperson, announced she was standing on Twitter on 17 January. In 2020, she had called for the Scottish Labour Party to split from the UK-wide Labour Party. On 19 January, it was announced that both candidates had received the required nominations for them to progress to the next stage. On the same day as both candidates received the required nominations for the next stage, Lennon told '' The Herald'' that she supported Scottish Labour being the party of devo-max and believed that the party should not block a second independence referendum. She did not support a referendum being held at the current time due to the "pandemic and the need for economic recovery." On 21 January, Sarwar published an article in ''

LabourList LabourList is a British news website supportive of, but independent of, the Labour Party, launched in 2009. Describing itself as Labour's "biggest independent grassroots e-network", the site's content includes news, commentary, interviews, campa ...

'' establishing his priorities. In the article, he called for modernisation and professionalism in campaigning and set his agenda focusing on "poverty, inequality, schools, health and jobs." On 2 February, Lennon laid out her vision on ending

child poverty Child poverty refers to the state of children living in poverty and applies to children from poor families and orphans being raised with limited or no state resources. UNICEF estimates that 356 million children live in extreme poverty. It is esti ...

within a decade which was published in the ''Daily Record''. She pledged to increase the child payment to £30 a week, provide funding to councils to provide extra support and to provide affordable homes for all. On 9 February,

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

hosted a debate between the two candidates. Both candidates discussed their positions on

Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...

, with Sarwar laying out his opposition to another referendum on independence. Additionally, both candidates suggested that Scottish income taxes should be increased, with Sarwar supporting a 5% increase for the highest tax band and a 2% increase for people earning over £100,000 while Lennon called for a 'national conversation' to look at the wider range of

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

while also supporting an increase for top earners. On 10 February, Lennon called for increased investment into broadband, claiming that her plan would improve productivity and innovation as well as generating More high skilled jobs. Her proposal was supported by the Communications Workers Union. On 15 February, Lennon was interviewed by ''LabourList'' in which she discussed her support for a 'third option' on any future independence referendum. Additionally she advocated for a 'bottom-up' approach to Labour's plans for devolution compared to the constitution commission established by the Leader of the National Party

Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...

. On 21 February, Lennon pledged to make free universal music tuition in state schools a manifesto pledge if she was elected leader, this policy was welcomed by

Stuart Braithwaite Stuart Leslie Braithwaite (born 10 May 1976) is a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter. He is the guitarist of post-rock band Mogwai, with whom he has recorded ten studio albums. He is also a member of the British alternative rock supergrou ...

. Lennon wrote an op-ed in '' Pink News'', in which she voiced her support for reforming the Gender Recognition Act and criticised the SNP government for not doing it already. "I have spoken out to condemn the transphobia that so many trans and non-binary people face on a daily basis. I believe that we have a duty to stand by those who are being unfairly marginalised, and I will stand by the trans community now," she said. "Trans people should not have to go through a bureaucratic and dehumanising process to have the law recognise who they already are."

Hustings

Several hustings were organised across late January to February.

Candidates

Declined

The following people were speculated about as potential candidates but declined to stand. *

Jackie Baillie Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie (' Barnes; born 15 January 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election, 2020. She has been Member of the Scottis ...

, deputy leader, finance spokesperson, and MSP for Dumbarton * James Kelly, former justice spokesperson and MSP for Glasgow ''(endorsed Sarwar)'' * Ian Murray, shadow Scotland secretary and MP for Edinburgh South ''(endorsed Sarwar)''

Nominations

The table below shows the number of nominations achieved by each candidate. Both candidates have received enough nominations to proceed to the next stage.

List of nominations

Below is a list the MPs and MSPs who nominated each candidate. Both candidates also nominated themselves.

Monica Lennon

* Neil Findlay, MSP for

Lothian Lothian (; ; ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Scottish capital, Edinburgh, while other signific ...

* Rhoda Grant, MSP for

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

* Alex Rowley, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife * Elaine Smith, MSP for Central Scotland

Anas Sarwar

* Claire Baker, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife * Claudia Beamish, MSP for South Scotland * Sarah Boyack, MSP for

* Neil Bibby, MSP for West Scotland * Mary Fee, MSP for West Scotland *

Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...

, MSP for

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

* Mark Griffin, MSP for Central Scotland * Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern * James Kelly, MSP for

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

* Johann Lamont, MSP for

* Lewis Macdonald, MSP for North East Scotland * Jenny Marra, MSP for North East Scotland * Pauline McNeill, MSP for

* Ian Murray, MP for Edinburgh South * Colin Smyth, MSP for South Scotland * David Stewart, MSP for

Endorsements and supporting nominations

Map of the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election CLP nominations

Monica Lennon

Labour politicians

Ged Killen Gerard Killen (born 1 May 1986) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (UK Parliament constituency), Rutherglen and Hamilton ...

, MP for

Rutherglen and Hamilton West Rutherglen and Hamilton West was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was created for the 2005 general election. It covered almost all of the former constituency of Glasgow Rutherglen and ...

from 2017 to 2019

Organisations

Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...

UNISON Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

Scotland Labour Link * Communication Workers Union (CWU) - Scotland Region * Scottish Labour Students * Socialist Health Association Scotland *

Christians on the Left Christians on the Left, formerly known as the Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), is a socialist society in the UK. The movement fulfils a need among Christian socialists for an organisation that would be both politically engaged and theologi ...

* Open Labour Scotland * Socialist Educational Association Scotland *

Transport Salaried Staffs' Association The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) is a trade union for workers in the transport and travel industries in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its head office is in London, and it has regional offices in Bristol, ...

(TSSA) *

Socialist Campaign Group The Socialist Campaign Group, also simply known as the Campaign Group, is a UK parliamentary caucus of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party including Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the Uni ...

* Campaign for Socialism

Anas Sarwar

Labour politicians

Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...

, First Minister of Scotland and leader of Scottish Labour from 2001 to 2007 * Frank McAveety, former leader of

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

and former minister for tourism, culture and sport *

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010

Organisations

Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers (Usdaw) is a trade union in the United Kingdom, consisting of over 360,000 members. Usdaw members work in a variety of occupations and industries including: shopworkers, factory and warehouse wor ...

(USDAW) * Labour Movement for Europe * BAME Labour Scotland * GMB (trade union) *

Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...

* National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) * Jewish Labour Movement * Scottish Co-operative Party * Socialist Environment and Resources Association (SERA)

Results

Results were announced on 27 February 2021.

Opinion polls

Best Leader

References

Notes

{{2021 United Kingdom party elections Scottish Labour leadership elections Labour leadership election Labour leadership election, 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election Scottish Labour leadership election Scottish Labour leadership election