Forget the Edinburgh festival. Labour party leadership candidate Jeremy Corbyn is the "hottest ticket in Scotland", the head of his Scottish campaign told a packed hall in Dundee.
For some Scottish Labour stalwarts, Corbyn presents their best hope of revival after the humiliation that was May’s general election. For others, the leadership frontrunner and champion of the party’s left threatens further ruin. With all the hoopla surrounding Corbyn’s candidacy, the separate process of choosing a new Scottish Labour leader – voting closed yesterday and the result will be revealed today – has been largely overshadowed. But both contests are likely to have far-reaching implications, not just for Labour but also for Scotland’s place in the UK.
Corbyn’s backers say his appeal to traditional Labour values, including backing for the unions and a leading role for the state in the economy, can rebuild support for the party after its crushing defeat by the Scottish National Party.
"For 25 years as a Labour party activist I have hoped for this type of campaign," said Neil Findlay, his campaign chairman in Scotland and a member of the parliament in Holyrood, Edinburgh.
Corbyn’s criticism of austerity and the bonus culture, and his defence of the health service and welfare, was warmly received by most of the people in the university lecture hall.
The only heckling came from a supporter of Scottish independence who demanded a free vote for party members in any future referendum, but Corbyn sidestepped the constitutional question. “Whether there’s another referendum or not, I don’t know. That’s a decision that will have to be made by the Scottish people, the Scottish government and the UK parliament,” he said.
Margaret Richardson, a retired accountant and party member, said Corbyn’s integrity and criticism of austerity had won her over. “It’s very refreshing,” said Richardson, adding that a Corbyn victory would boost grassroots party campaigners in Dundee – one of the few places where a majority voted Yes to independence in last year’s referendum. “People are looking for someone who is actually principled.”
Some Labour members say a Corbyn leadership would make it far harder for the SNP to win over left-wing voters in Scotland, a key ingredient in the nationalists’ election landslide. Corbyn’s opposition to spending cuts and to the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons closely matches SNP election pledges.
“He says the same kind of things as the SNP but he would actually do them,” said student Callum Dunleavy.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015
