Leonard Goin’

Disclaimer: I’m not Scottish and I’m not a member of Scottish Labour. I am, however, a citizen of the UK, and what goes down politically in Scotland is of great importance to anyone who is one. I have quite a few thoughts on the issue of the leadership — not as someone with any expertise in particular, rather as someone who spends too much time thinking and reading about politics. I thought I might as well jot them down here and write a short post. There are many useful threads on Twitter by people who are closer to the action, so they’re definitely worth searching out.

The common refrain I’ve seen in response to Richard Leonard’s resignation: ‘X leaders in Y years; no one’s found a way of breaking out; how is this going to be different? What difference could the new leader make given all this and the structural circumstances?’ Sometimes this sequence of statements and questions is accompanied by a defence of Richard Leonard: everyone else failed; the next person probably will.

I have nothing against Richard Leonard personally; I don’t have a strong opinion on him. Judging from social media, there does appear to be real warmth towards him on the part of some in Scottish Labour. Perhaps he is a great colleague, a nice man, a respected trade unionist. I lack the details that come from proximity, but I do possess the perspective that comes from distance. Of course, Leonard failed. Every Scottish…