Saint Margaret

The Sunday Herald - Labour's poisoned chalice: fourth choice Curran to fight by-election: "First candidate Ryan cites 'pressures' for withdrawal -Glasgow leader Purcell and McAveety refuse -Curran is 'deeply committed' to fighting by-election -Rivals claim Labour campaign is shambles"


Here's a thought...

If (when?) - or should that be when (if?) - Margaret Curran wins Glasgow East, it will be easy to characterise her brave intervention as that of a heroic saviour of Labour.
Who then will be the favourite for leader? Step forward Saint Margaret of Baillieston.

It would actually make a lot of sense for Scottish Labour to have a leader with a foot in the Westminster and Holyrood camps - straddling by far the biggest divide in the Scottish party, a much bigger and more public chasm even than the divide between left and right perhaps, exploited to the very max by whoever is in charge in London HQ. In a way that's the secret of Salmond's success, and of Donald Dewar before him. And perhaps of McLeish, McConnell and Alexander's failure.

Anyway, the implications for the Leader/Dep Leader elections may well be that there is a) no actual leadership contest (who would stand against St Margaret?) and/or b) there is no actual dep leader contest (if Cathy Jamieson doesn't stand against St Margaret).