Scottish Labour may face 'branch office' accusations again if Keir Starmer is not more careful – Scotsman comment

Different attitudes to two-child benefit cap and gender self-ID may cause a headache for Scottish Labour

When former Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont resigned from the role in 2014, she did so with a loud parting shot aimed at party colleagues in Westminster. They had, she claimed, made her position “untenable” and some in UK headquarters appeared to think of the Scottish party as little more than a “branch office”.

It was an accusation that dogged Scottish Labour for some time afterwards and which may have resurfaced in the minds of supporters and opponents alike in recent days. First came the announcement that a Labour government under Keir Starmer would not scrap the Conservatives’ two-child benefit cap, a policy that Scottish Labour was and remains opposed to.

Scottish Labour Anas Sarwar said he supported the UK party’s position – on the grounds that Labour will inherit an economy in a mess and must prioritise sound finances – but then later stressed he continued to oppose the cap and would urge Starmer to ditch it if his party wins the next general election. The political gymnastics involved in seemingly both supporting and opposing the cap may stretch Sarwar’s credibility to the limit.

Now Anneliese Dodds, the Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary, has said that a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria will remain a requirement under the UK party’s plans to reform the law to make it easier for transgender people to transition, while also ensuring single-sex spaces are preserved. This is a departure from Labour’s 2019 policy of introducing “self-declaration for transgender people” and conflicts with Scottish Labour’s support for the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, currently blocked by the UK Government.

Regardless of the rights and wrongs of both these debates, the sense of Scottish Labour being forced to accommodate changes in UK Labour’s stance on issues is clear. Should this continue, it is likely to produce Lamont-style anger within the party and offer a gift to its rival parties, particularly the SNP.

How Scotland votes is expected to be an important factor in determining the outcome of the next general election. If Starmer cannot avoid trampling on the toes of Sarwar and co, he may come to regret his clumsiness.