Voting for the Scottish Labour leadership elections begins today.
Labour members and registered supporters in Scotland will start to receive ballot papers this morning, and the campaigns for Leader and Deputy Leader are stepping up a gear.
The voting period runs from today, Monday 20th July, to Friday 14th August. The results will be announced on Saturday 15th August. Full details of the process and candidates are available on the Scottish Labour website.
Leadership candidate Kezia Dugdale MSP said:
“To have the backing of the overwhelming majority of local parties, trade unions and elected representatives fills me with pride. As voting starts, I hope to repay their support by reaching out to every corner of the party’s membership to deliver a mandate for the change our party needs.
Labour’s route to power starts by making the most of the talent of our supporters, and by reaching out to all Scots who share our desire to empower communities and transform lives.
We need to take the opportunity that this race is affording us to look beyond our benches at Holyrood and our party’s membership, to the communities and organisations that share our values of a fairer and more equal Scotland.
It’s clear we need start promoting and supporting a new generation of Scots who want to see an end to injustice, and to give them the space and support needed to call the Scottish Labour Party home.
Labour has always succeeded when it’s been the party of the future, offering a space for talented and passionate people to come together and deliver meaningful change. Under my leadership it will be again.”
Ken Macintosh MSP, also contesting the leadership, said:
“From speaking to members, it is clear that the vast majority are still undecided in this contest.
From Monday, my team of volunteers will be hitting the phones to get the message of change across. I’m writing out to all members and supporters and have produced a video which I will also be emailing to all those who have signed up online.
My whole appeal is to the members rather than to those who run the Labour Party. I am offering something different. I want to take our party in a new direction, more collaborative, more positive and more forward looking. I believe we need to change some of our policies and I will bring a new style and approach to our politics.
I have been clear from day one about how I will reclaim our party to rebuild the trust we have lost. These have not just been words – I have laid out in some detail the practical changes I will make and the policies I will pursue.
Under my leadership, Scottish Labour will be driven by our positive vision for Scotland’s future and not by our opposition to the SNP.
For the next three and a half weeks, the focus will be on making sure members know the future of the party lies in their hands, that it is their decision that counts. I will be urging them to choose a new path.”
The candidates standing for the post of Deputy Leader of Scottish Labour are Richard Baker MSP, Cllr Gordon Matheson and Alex Rowley MSP.
