“By the time of the 2021 vote, the greatest share of the damage to Scottish Labour had already been done, and failing to reverse any of this needs to be seen as significant in itself.”
Scottish Labour
It’s rather too easy to blame this on Brexit. The deeper problem is how Brexit interacted with a longstanding sense that all factions of Labour, centrist or leftist, don’t like the party’s traditional voters.
Source Direct: Agonising Labour Pains
Compare the turbulence of the past five years to the Scottish election results. No change – or change so piddling as to make mentioning it seem pedantic. Holyrood’s elite was effectively reproduced intact.
Source Direct: Plus ça Change…
“Independence supporters face the prospect of explaining and reaffirming the expanded mandate for they have won. Many will not look forward to beating their head against this particular brick wall once again, as the unionist counter-argument will only become more shrill, obstinate and unconcerned with democracy the more they are put on the defensive.”
Sean Bell: After the election, what comes next?
“Tomorrow’s Holyrood election – for which more than 4.2 million people have registered to vote, the highest number yet recorded – has arguably frustrated Scotland’s politicians at least as much as the public on whom their futures depend.”
Sean Bell: What kind of election campaign has it been?
They’ve elected an affable new leader. They’ve focused on covid recovery rather than the constitution – theoretically, that’s what the aggregate voter demands. And rivals are in turmoil: the Conservatives embroiled in corruption scandals; pro-independence parties suffering an acute identity crisis. Everything should add up to Scottish Labour success
Source Direct Election Profile: Scottish Labour
“This isn’t just about Labourism, but a much general culture of managerialism which has helped to empty the democratic content from Scottish, British and western politics in general.”
Analysis: The Starmer school of party management comes to Scotland
Nobody was surprised to see Anas Sarwar sweep the vote. He was the predictable, centrist, unionist option.
Source Direct: The Indignity of Labour
Readers have been asking about that Labour Party broadcast, infamous less for Keir Starmer’s words (nothing special) than for its mise-en-scène: the Union Jack hanging “innocently” in the background.