Scottish Labour expected to elect Corbyn ally as leader
1 min read
A strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn is expected to win the race to replace Kezia Dugdale for the leadership of Scottish Labour, it has emerged.
Richard Leonard, a former GMB union political officer, has become the frontrunner in a fractious debate between the hard and centrist sides of the party.
Leonard has emerged as the candidate with the most credibility after centrist Anas Sarwar faced criticism for his multi-million pound shareholding and for sending his children to private school.
Campaign sources believe the result, due to be declared at 11am on Saturday in Glasgow, will be far closer than the odds being offered by Ladbrokes, which on Friday put Leonard in at 1/16 to win against 7/1 for Sarwar.
However, the majority of Scottish Labour’s 25,000 members backed Owen Smith in his bid to challenge Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. This has made Sarwar’s camp hopeful of a narrow victory.
Leonard’s camp are hopeful that Jeremy Corbyn’s renewed leadership has converted many centrist supporters who previously backed Jim Murphy’s tenure as Scottish Labour’s leader.
Both camps agree Leonard is expected to take the lion’s share of 10,000 affiliate membership votes after a concerted registration and voting drive by the Unite union.
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