Archives for August 15, 2007

One by one, the potential contenders to challenge Wendy Alexander for the Scottish Labour leadership are dropping out.

Margaret Curran, Andy Kerr and Iain Gray have now all declined to enter the contest.

Ms Alexander herself has confirmed that she is a candidate - but won’t launch her campaign until Friday.

That’s sensible, given that Jack McConnell has only just stood down and that the timetable for the election has yet to be determined by the party.

Strictly speaking, the post is Labour leader at Holyrood.

To stand for the post, you need to be a member of the Scottish Parliament - and you need nominations from six Labour MSPs.

Pretty tall order when you consider that Wendy is the firm favourite - and that the field of nominating MSPs has shrunk of late.

Is it really a smart career move to stand against the hot tip?

True, you engineer a contest. But the warm glow of assisting democracy fades fairly soon. The chill of self-exclusion persists.

At an earlier stage, it was said that Ms Alexander would welcome a contest, if only to foster a debate about the future of the party.

But I imagine she could summon the strength of character to survive a coronation.

Doesn’t seem to have done Gordon Brown any harm.

Re Wendy herself, she is personable, highly intelligent and a politician of substantial integrity.

As a minister until 2002, she was a dynamo at the heart of government.

Perhaps not every idea endured to action - but ideas there were plenty.

She is the MSP for Paisley North and the sister of Douglas, the International Development Secretary at Westminster.

Wendy stepped down from cabinet to think great thoughts - or, less satirically, to contribute to the intellectual debate which she plainly felt was lacking in the rather stolid, immobile Scottish body politic.

She insisted then that she intended no snub to Jack McConnell by leaving his team.

One or two Labour observers at Holyrood harbour doubts about whether she has the gutsy character to tackle Alex Salmond.

Young as she is, some also see her as part of the old guard who formed the Labour leadership at the outset of devolution.

One sceptic recalled that she had posed problems for the party with the repeal of Section 28.

Said sceptic added: “All we need is for Henry McLeish to come back as a special adviser and we’re set.”

However, most in the party think highly of her - and expect great things, particularly in the field of policy making.

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As promised, more on Jack McConnell. Rather a lot more.

He is to be the next High Commissioner to Malawi. But not yet.

He will succeed the current incumbent, Richard Wildash, who is currently due to complete his tour of duty in early 2009.

That would, of course, be before the next Holyrood elections which are scheduled for 2011. Under Holyrood rules, that date is fixed.

However, I understand that Mr McConnell doesn’t want to provoke a by-election (would you, given the latest polls?).

So either Mr Wildash may be prevailed upon to extend his duty or a temporary diplomat might be put in place. To be frank, I do not think these details are anything like settled.

So what do you make of that then?

Version One: this is the Westminster/Labour patronage machine in top gear, despatching a departing leader to a former colony.

Version Two: this is a signal honour for Jack McConnell, an opportunity to extend his work in Malawi with the Clinton Hunter foundation.

For myself, I think I incline mostly to Version Two - with just a tangy hint of Version One on a side plate.

Couple of reasons.

Jack McConnell is not being despatched. He is choosing to go, admittedly under the cosh of an electoral outcome.

Further, he is not going yet. He does not intend, I understand, to go full time to Malawi before 2011.

More, he is genuinely interested in Malawi and genuinely intrigued by the prospect of helping that desperately poor nation. This is not a sinecure.

However, when postings are announced by powerful colleagues, there is always the faintly acrid scent of patronage in the air. Jack McConnell, I suspect, can live with that.

As to his successor, stand by for an announcement this very afternoon from Wendy Alexander that she intends to be a candidate.

Asked to comment about her intentions immediately after the McConnell news conference this morning, she declined, saying that it was “Jack’s moment”.

That moment, it would seem, has not been over-prolonged.

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Just back from the Jack McConnell news conference - and thought I’d offer a brief burst of bloggery to stir the pot.

Might pitch in rather more later.

You’ll know this if you were watching the telly last night (BBC, of course) but McConnell, J has decided to step down as Scottish Labour leader.

He’s taking up an (unpaid) role with the Clinton Hunter foundation helping to improve the education prospects of some of the world’s poorest kids in Malawi and Rwanda.

(The Hunter is Sir Tom Hunter, Scottish entrepreneur par excellence; the Clinton is . . . well, you know who he is.)

But Jack McC will stay as an MSP. He may, perhaps, at some stage, be offered a place in the House of Lords as well.

But the red benches don’t beckon yet.

Probably just as well. It would have smacked rather too much of Westminster patronage at this stage.

The former first minister probably feels he had enough tender attention from Westminster during the recent Holyrood elections.

Did he have to go? Probably yes, although some insiders were urging otherwise. Whether it was (entirely) his fault or not, he lost the election.

Alex Salmond didn’t gain an overall majority - or even a stable coalition. But Labour lost. He lost.

Is his record entitled to command respect? Mostly, yes.

He stabilised devolution (and Scottish Labour) after an extremely turbulent period. He voiced ambition for Scotland over issues like reversing population decline, tackling sectarianism and increasing Scotland’s stake in global affairs. Notably in Malawi where he will now work.

Who will take over? Wendy Alexander. She may take over unopposed (but don’t be on it.)

Labour will decide the timetable tomorrow. If there’s no contest, expect a new leader within a month. If there is, stretch that to two.

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