Jeremy Corbyn’s takeover of Labour is all but complete

Oh Jeremy Corbyn, your takeover of Labour is all but complete. Left-winger Richard Leonard has triumphed in the Scottish Labour leadership, defeating moderate rival Anas Sarwar. The Yorkshireman and former GMB official becomes the party’s sixth leader in ten years and takes over from Kezia Dugdale, who abruptly quit the post in August for the backbenches and Bush Tucker Trials.

The outcome, announced at Glasgow’s Science Centre this morning, was hardly surprising. Sarwar’s campaign was arguably doomed from the start. Outwardly, he seemed like a fresh face to take Scottish Labour forward — young, articulate, media-savvy — but he was dogged by questions about his shareholdings, a family firm which didn’t pay the living wage, and the decision to send his children to private school. The larger problem, though, was the man himself. Whatever his presentational qualities, Sarwar has never given the impression of believing in anything other than himself.