Analysis: Was backing Owen Smith Kezia Dugdale's biggest mistake?

Kezia Dugdale's allies have been keen to point out that rumours of a coup by left-wing members of the Scottish Labour party have been somewhat overblown.

Kezia Dugdale. Picture: Ian Georgeson

Ms Dugdale’s shock departure has left members and journalists scratching their heads, but the Lothians MSP seems to have made a decision that was as much personal as political.

Among the front-runners are Richard Leonard, a long-time union official, and Anas Sarwar, who has cast himself in recent weeks as a Jeremy Corbyn ally.

Mr Corbyn’s takeover of the Labour party in 2015 has changed the face of British politics, and his position was only strengthened by a better-than-expected performance at June’s snap general election.

An EU campaign perceived as lukewarm led to furious Labour MPs demanding that a leader few of them had backed step aside.

Ms Dugdale chose not to stay apart from that fray, and threw her lot in with challenger Owen Smith during last summer’s fractious leadership campaign.

The now former Scottish Labour leader fully embraced the Corbyn agenda during the general election campaign, and it was a testament to her personally integrity that she always seemed willing to work with someone she had cast as unfit to lead the Labour party.

Smith gaffes

I’ve argued before that Kezia Dugdale was badly advised in backing Owen Smith for leader, not because of how it would affect her standing in the Scottish Party (whose membership backed Smith) but because he was a demonstrably poor candidate.

Others may offer analysis that the Labour membership was so irrevocably changed by Corbyn’s elevation to leadership that a comfortable victory in the 2016 election.

However, a better candidate could have pushed the Labour leader into a much closer race than the eventual 62-38 margin that he thrashed Smith by.

The Smith campaign that Ms Dugdale gave her full-throated backing to, was beset by gaffes, poor organisation, and a worrying streak of apparent sexism in their candidate.

Smith made a number of ill-advised comments, expressing a desire to ‘knock Theresa May back on her heels’, suggesting Nicola Sturgeon should be forceably silenced by use of a ‘gobstopper’ and accusing Leeanne Wood, Plaid Cymru leader, of being on a panel show because of her gender.

He also erred in interviews and debates, suggesting that negotiating with ISIS was possibly, and being so desperate to avoid appearing metropolitan in an interview, seemingly pretending not to know what a cappuccino was.

Retribution

Ms Dugdale, in backing Mr Smith, wrote: “Owen Smith gets my vote. I believe he can unite our party and move us on from the divisions that exist under the current leadership of Jeremy Corbyn.”

There seemed to be no desire for a challenge to her leadership then, and that cooled further following the snap election.

That isn’t to say that there was some anger towards Ms Dugdale, with many members believing that she should have remained above the fray.

This is one of many factors, not least the poor Holyrood election result of 2016, that had many members unhappy about her leadership.

But backing Owen Smith was not a failure of duty on Ms Dugdale’s party, nor a shocking political betrayal.

It just showed poor instincts, and that lack of nous on massive, party defining matters meant yesterday’s announcement, while shocking, seemed certain to occur before the next Scottish election.