Ken Macintosh compares his campaign to Corbyn’s

SCOTTISH Labour leadership candidate Ken Macintosh has compared his campaign to that of Jeremy Corbyn at UK level as he said he was “the challenger” in the same way as the left-wing MP.

Leadership candidate Ken Macintosh. Picture: John Devlin

Lothians MSP Kezia Dugdale is widely tipped as the bookies’ favourite to defeat Macintosh in the contest to succeed Jim Murphy who quit in the wake of Scottish Labour’s near meltdown in May’s Westminster election.

However, Macintosh said he expected to be elected as leader when the result of the election is announced on Saturday.

The Eastwood MSP, who has been in the Scottish Parliament since 1999, said he represented a mood for change in the same was as he suggested Corbyn does.

Macintosh said: “I’m the one challenger who has been saying we should do things differently.

“I’m putting forward a different style and I’m the change candidate in this leadership election. I recognise why Jeremy Corbyn has proved attractive in the UK Labour leadership election as he’s not just taken a position against something, he has come out and said what positive things he is going to do.”

Macintosh went onto state that he and Corbyn had both only narrowly got on the ballot paper for their respective leadership contests.

However, he said that both politicians had adopted anti-austerity positions that were popular with Labour supporters.

He said: “That’s what I’ve tried to do myself by saying that Labour has to be against austerity and for protecting public services that are accountable to the public.

“He only just managed to get into the election. I was in a similar situation.”

Macintosh’s comments came ahead of a keynote speech by his rival Dugdale on education tomorrow when she will unveil plans to fund a pay rise for teachers in deprived areas by imposing a 50p top rate of income tax on people with salaries of more than £150,000.