Every leader of Scottish Labour has, since 2007, felt they were turning the corner to recovery – only to discover they were actually on a roundabout. Every new dawn has proven itself to be sometimes agonisingly, and always painfully, false. But now, as the SNP is mired by scandal after scandal, Labour’s odds in Scotland are looking better, even if Labour cannot quite relax yet.
Keir Starmer must not only persuade soft-SNP voters to return to the party but simultaneously those who left Labour for the Conservatives in 2019.
There are signs that at the next general election things could actually change – for real this time. Nicola Sturgeon has stepped down, her husband – the SNP’s former chief executive – is under police investigation and her successor as First Minister, Humza Yousaf, is clearly not up to the task.
Public dissatisfaction with issues like the state of the economy and gender reform has increased over the SNP’s time in office.
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