By-election looms after McConnell is urged to quit as MSP

Published on Tuesday 24 June 2008 22:46

WENDY Alexander is likely to face a crucial test of her leadership in the next few months after a Commons committee called on Jack McConnell to resign his seat in the Scottish Parliament and trigger a by-election.

The former First Minister is due to take up the post of British High Commissioner to Malawi early next year but has yet to give any indication of when he will step down from Holyrood.

Yesterday, the Commons foreign affairs select committee made it clear he could not prepare to take over such a sensitive diplomatic role while continuing as an MSP.

The MPs said it was important to have as seamless a transition as possible after the February departure of the current High Commissioner, Richard Wildash, and Mr McConnell should leave the Scottish Parliament in good time to take over from him.

It is understood he now accepts that he will have to stand down as MSP for Motherwell and Wishaw in the near future, and that will trigger a by-election.

The Lanarkshire seat has been safe Labour territory for decades and Mr McConnell won in 2007 with a majority of almost 6,000 over the SNP.

But given Labour's plummeting poll ratings nationally and the extended honeymoon period that Alex Salmond is still enjoying as First Minister, that majority could soon disappear.

It is understood the former MSP Brian Fitzpatrick is among those being considered as possible Labour candidates.

Ms Alexander, the Scottish Labour leader, has struggled to command universal support within her party, and her aides are aware her position will come under intense pressure if Labour loses. The SNP is preparing to throw everything at the by-election, whenever it is called, because a win would allow the SNP to extend its wafer-thin gap over Labour at Holyrood from one to three seats.

That would make a big difference to the Scottish Government and mean it would not have to court the support of the Greens or Margo MacDonald, the independent MSP, every time it needed to win a vote.

Mr McConnell said: "The handover arrangements for the post are entirely a matter for the Foreign Office, and in the meantime my priorities remain serving the people of Motherwell and Wishaw and my voluntary work."

A Labour spokesman said Mr McConnell had not received a contract from the Foreign Office and would decide what to do when he did so.

The Foreign Office said it would be "unusual" for there to be a gap between the departure of one High Commissioner and the arrival of another, adding: "We would obviously like to have him in post as soon as we possibly can."

Christina McKelvie, an SNP MSP, called on Mr McConnell to quit and spark a by-election.

"Jack McConnell can be an excellent High Commissioner, but he cannot be preparing to be a neutral civil servant and a Labour MSP at the same time," she said.

David McLetchie, for the Conservatives, said: "The decision when to resign as an MSP is one for Jack McConnell to take.

"However, if he wants to go now, then the Labour Party in Scotland should put no obstacles in his way out of party self- interest. The recognition by the Labour-dominated select committee that a period of preparation is necessary for such a post is a sensible conclusion."