2020: Not a good time to be a party leader in Scotland

The Covid pandemic has dominated the politics of 2020 just as it has dominated everything else.
Former Scottish Conservative Party leader Jackson Carlaw was ousted after less than six months in postFormer Scottish Conservative Party leader Jackson Carlaw was ousted after less than six months in post
Former Scottish Conservative Party leader Jackson Carlaw was ousted after less than six months in post

But at the start of the year it was the trial of former First Minister Alex Salmond on a series of sex charges including attempted rape which was expected to be the big event. Only a deadly plague sweeping across the world could oust such a story from the front page - but that's exactly what happened.

When he was acquitted on all counts after the two-week trial, a sombre Mr Salmond appeared outside the court and after welcoming the verdict advised everyone to go home and look after their families. "And God help us all."

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Hours later Boris Johnson appeared on TV to announce the nationwide lockdown.

Richard Leonard faced calls for him to quit as Scottish Labour Leader.Richard Leonard faced calls for him to quit as Scottish Labour Leader.
Richard Leonard faced calls for him to quit as Scottish Labour Leader.

Nicola Sturgeon has won high approval ratings from the public for her handling of the crisis but that has not spared her from opposition attacks.

And if the spirit of battle between the parties is alive and well so is the instinct for internal conflict.

Tory Jackson Carlaw was the biggest victim. After last year's general election, when he was interim leader and the party lost seven of its 13 MPs, insiders said he had fought a good campaign and many were relieved the result was not worse. He went on to win the leadership election in February with over 75 per cent of the votes and his predecessor Ruth Davidson pledged her "unwavering support".

But less than six months later, Mr Jackson was toppled in a coup which saw MP Douglas Ross parachuted in as the new leader with Ms Davidson standing in for him at Holyrood until the next election.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has seen internal divisions in the SNP tooFirst Minister Nicola Sturgeon has seen internal divisions in the SNP too
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has seen internal divisions in the SNP too

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard also looked set to be ousted by internal opponents, though they did not have a successor lined up. Critics said Mr Leonard had made little impact in his three years in the role and many voters didn't even know who he was. An urgent change was needed, they claimed. But Mr Leonard fought back, insisting he had mandate to lead the party into the 2021 election and had no intention of quitting, and the coup collapsed.

And the SNP has seen internal divisions too, not least between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond, her one-time friend and mentor. Allies of the former First Minister accuse supporters of Ms Sturgeon of a politically-motivated plot against him, aimed at preventing him making a political comeback.

The conflict was expected to come to a head through the Holyrood committee looking looking into the Scottish Government’s botched handling of the initial complaints against Mr Salmond. But the committee is making slow progress, feeling its work is being frustrated, and much-anticipated appearances by Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond are yet to take place.

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Some of the tensions of this divide were being played out in the selection battle in Edinburgh Central between Sturgeon ally Angus Robertson and Salmond supporter Joanne Cherry until Ms Cherry was forced to pull out by a rule change. But the fault line still has the potential to be extremely damaging for Ms Sturgeon and her party.

The experiences of all three of Scotland’s biggest parties might reasonably lead to the conclusion that, all in all, 2020 has not been the best year to be a leader.

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