The major weakness in the Labour Party in Scotland in recent years has not been the enthusiasm and commitment of ordinary Labour Party supporters or the strength and solidarity of the support of trades unions but it has been the deep seated antagonism between the parliamentary parties at Westminster and Holyrood. If Labour is to rally from its current internal problems and help save Scotland from further constitutional turmoil, if the SNP were to get more Westminster seats than Labour in the general election of May next year, then it needs a leader who can bridge that divide. Jim Murphy is the only candidate who has demonstrated wide support in both parliamentary parties - getting substantially more nominations from both sets of parliamentarians than the other two candidates due to his far seeing, articulate and renewed vision for an invigorated Labour Party in Scotland. The other two Lothian based candidates, Sarah Boyack and Neil Findlay, are able and competent and would make good cabinet ministers but I fear that they lack the vision, experience and projection that is needed to unite the Labour Party across Scotland after the referendum and after what should have been a victorious aftermath for the party.
Letter in the Edinburgh Evening News 13 Nov 2014
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