A root-and-branch review of the party structure following Labour's staggering defeat in the May election has heard "a strong case" from activists and members to hand more authority to its Scottish operation to show policies are "made in Scotland, for Scotland."
A majority of grassroots members believe there should be a dedicated Scottish leader of the party, the review has learned, to map out a distinctive agenda. While no decisions have yet been made, a new leader along those lines would not necessarily be an MSP, opening the door for a Westminster figure to take overall charge of Labour's fortunes north of the Border.
The new leader would be expected to have a wider role co-ordinating the entire Labour machine as it tries to recapture ground lost to the SNP. There are also calls for the Scottish party to have complete organisational control over its affairs.
Senior Scottish party sources say they are now "open-minded" about such a change, saying the scale of t he defeat to the SNP earlier this year requires all options to be considered.
Some MSPs say they would not object to a Scottish Labour leadership contest including members from outside Holyrood, including MPs. However, if an MP did become leader, party figures suggest they would have to come to the Scottish parliament ahead of the next election in 2016.
The review group, led by shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy and MSP Sarah Boyack, will present its conclusions on reform by the autumn. It has yet to form conclusions, likely to have major knock-on effects for the UK Labour movement as a whole.
But last night one leading supporter of the leadership proposal, Glasgow Labour MP Tom Harris said: "It is simply not credible to stay with the status quo. This isn't a silver bullet. But I think we do need an iconic way of telling voters this is a new start and that our policies are made in Scotland for Scotland."
Another senior party source added: "There is a strong case for that we should have a (Scottish] leader.
Article Source KBG Test Blog (http://rc.kbg.me)
