Stewart Kirkpatrick: Scottish Labour – do you want to f****** win?

19/05/2015
CommonWeal

By Stewart Kirkpatrick, who was the head of digital for Yes Scotland

A THOUGHT experiment for Scottish Labour: do you want to ******* win?

That big question is one that was put by a senior SNP figure with regard to the independence referendum.

Of course, Yes Scotland didn’t win. But we did increase support for independence by 20 points. And that “******* win” focus drove our extremely successful grassroots and social media campaign (of which I was head and which delivered unprecedented levels of engagement with undecided voters). The SNP have continued with that kind of campaigning. Judging by 7 May, it seems to be working out OK for them.

But let’s talk about you. Do you want to ******* win? Because you’re not behaving like it. The one sure thing that ensures Scottish Labour’s extinction is business as usual. Newsflash: business as usual includes fratricidal in-fighting. You’ve had four leadership elections since you last won at Holyrood. Does that sound like a formula for victory?

Click here to read the full article on Stewart Kirkpatrick’s website.

Picture courtesy of Scottish Labour