bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

The Guardian

Kezia Dugdale has suddenly resigned as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, claiming the party needs a new leader with “fresh energy and a new mandate”.
She told the BBC that Scottish Labour had become revitalised during her two years as leader and strongly denied suggestions she had resigned to avoid conflicts with UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters in Scotland.
Dugdale said the party needed a new leader who had “fresh energy, drive and a new mandate” and who had the “space and time” to prepare for the next Holyrood elections in 2021.

Corbyn thanked Dugdale: “Kezia became Scottish leader at one of the most difficult times in the history of the Scottish Labour Party and the party’s revival is now fully under way, with six new MPs and many more to come.”
Jeremy Corbyn gets rock star treatment at Britain’s Glastonbury Festival ... and he even poured pints of beer
Her announcement came only two days after Corbyn finished a high-profile tour of 18 Scottish constituencies, staging rallies across the country often to packed venues, which suggested his leadership and policies had become far more popular among supporters and voters.
Party officials said they accepted that speculation linking that tour with her resignation was inevitable.

Dugdale had opposed Corbyn’s leadership bids in both party elections, backing his opponent Owen Smith last year, as did a majority of Scottish party members. She repeatedly insisted after she won the leadership that she planned to stay in the post beyond the 2021 election, claiming it would take a number of years to rebuild the Scottish party and restore its popularity.
How Jeremy Corbyn defied his critics, a hostile media and even his own party to deliver stunning election turnaround
She told the BBC on Tuesday she believed that task was finished but appeared to hint that she no longer felt she was the right leader for the party. “I have just come to the conclusion that the best thing for it, the Labour Party, this precious, precious thing that has done so much good in our country, and indeed for me, is to pass that baton on,” she said.

Dignified, compassionate & principled.

PS @kezdugdale are you now free to wash the dishes?
— Jenny Gilruth (@JennyGilruth) August 29, 2017

<![CDATA[// ><!]]>

Dugdale’s personal life has also recently been in the headlines after it emerged in July that she had started a relationship with a Scottish National Party MSP, Jenny Gilruth.
Dugdale was also humiliated during the general election campaign when Sturgeon disclosed in a live television debate that Dugdale had privately told her immediately after the Brexit vote she believed Labour may need to support an independence referendum. The party’s official policy, aggressively pursued by Dugdale in public, was to oppose one.

Party officials insisted that Dugdale has achieved many of her stated goals. Scottish Labour won seven seats at the June general election, against expectations; it now has a guaranteed seat on the party’s UK national executive, autonomy over policymaking and control over candidate selection in Scotland.

Scottish Labour leader quits suddenly but party insists nothing to do with Corbyn or talk of new independence vote

Former Scottish Labour Party leader, Kezia Dugdale. Photo: AFP

Kezia Dugdale celebrating national dog day. Photo: Twitter/@scottishlabour

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon stands in front of the Queensferry Crossing which is illuminated to mark the ceremonial handover from the contractors to the Scottish Government, Queensferry Scotland August 28 2017. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

Britain's opposition Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, is interviewed during a visit to a museum in Rawtenstall, Britain August 17, 2017. REUTERS/Phil Noble

News

World

Europe