What next for Jack McConnell?
As promised, to the topic of the Scottish Labour leadership.
First, the basics. Jack McConnell is thought to be very close to a decision about his own political future.
Further, it鈥檚 thought that future is unlikely to include leading Labour at Holyrood.
To be clear, no decision has been finally taken - or announced.
That is entirely down to McConnell, J. However, I think it is reasonable to deal at this stage with the most likely scenario - that he steps down.
He鈥檚 young to be leaving high office, but electoral politics is, rightly, a rough business.
He lost the election. Churn is what sustains democracy. If leaders are to be contained, we must be able to dismiss them - regardless of age or ability.
Anyway, enough of that.
Three key questions, based on our scenario.
What happens to Jack, who succeeds him - and what, exactly, is the job anyway?
Jack McConnell has his detractors - including a few outside the Labour Party. Hey, he was the top man at Holyrood.
Before that, he was party General Secretary in Scotland, a post scarcely calculated to endear him to the comrades or whatever title they currently adopt.
Plus of course there will be those who dissent from individual policies pursued by him in office.
However, I believe that most would accept he is entitled to substantial respect on two broader counts, on things that matter.
Firstly, he steadied the entire devolution project after the guddle of Henry McLeish鈥檚 departure.
It鈥檚 easy now to forget how destabilising that period was. Holyrood haters had easy, legitimate targets. Jack McConnell turned that round.
Secondly, he set out a series of longer-term ambitions, helping to ensure that debate at Holyrood was not about whether the Scottish Parliament, but whither.
It turned, finally, from the constitution per se - to the policy ramifications of reform.
Chief among these broader issues one might spotlight: Fresh Talent and (apparently successful) efforts to reverse Scotland鈥檚 population decline; action against sectarianism; and linking the smoking ban to Scotland鈥檚 health record.
Respect, if granted, includes the presumption that Mr McConnell might expect a dignified departure, should he choose to go.
Options might include a seat in the House of Lords - and perhaps a wider policy role quite apart from the patronage which the 鈥渙ther place鈥 inevitably involves.
I do not believe he would step down from his Holyrood seat.
I propose to spend much less time on Question Two - his successor, should it come to that, .
Succession would be determined by those who stand and those in the party who vote. Wendy Alexander looks to be the favourite.
Margaret Curran and Andy Kerr are other possible contenders.
Might be too early for Iain Gray who inadvertently missed out on 2003-2007 at Holyrood.
If they don鈥檛 stand, someone will, in order to engineer a contest.
And finally, to Question Three. What, precisely, is the job?
Hate to harp on about this but Labour has still, after eight years of devolution, to define exactly the role accorded to the elected leader.
Is it still, as originally intended, confined to being 鈥渢he leader of Labour in the Scottish Parliament鈥? Or has the scope now broadened to include a wider role leading the Labour Party across Scotland as a whole?
Trust me, this matters. Not enormously, but symbolically.
Every other party has a Scottish leader with that broader role - Labour is lagging behind on internal devolution.
Something for the incoming - or even outgoing - leader to act upon?
I'm 
Comments
JM is a lightweight politcian. The entire Labour party in Scotland followed London's line on issues like Iraq and Trident to name but a few. REAL labour men and women would be and should be fundamentally opposed to issues like these. I believe this is why Labour is not in power in Scotland and why they wont be again for a while.
Oh and Wendy Alexander, dont make me laugh!!
I think that Scottish politics in would benefit from having a distinct Scottish Labour party. As you've mentioned before the Scottish Labour MPs never considered McConnell as their leader and that needs to change to avoid them being (often fairly) regarded as London's puppet.
However, it's hard to see how that's really workable when you have Gordon Brown as British Labour leader and of course PM. It's unthinkable that he'd defer to the Scottish Labour leader on Scottish matters in the Commons.
What Scottish Labour needs is someone of stature like John Reid who can stand up to Brown to lead the party, but then there's the small matter of convincing these heavyweight MPs to defect to the Scottish Parliament. Tricky stuff indeed.
Wendy Alexander? LOL!
Margaret Curran?
Andy Kerr?
Iain Gray? Who Iain Gray?
John Reid???????
I hear barrels being scraped in Labour party HQ.
For as long as Labour is in power in Westminster Scottish Labour MPs will NOT follow the leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
They're just as confused as the rest of us as to who their leader is!
It saddens me to say it, but Mr McConnell did not really have the gravitas required of high office. He tried his best but always appeared to be out of his depth, I think. Time for a change. Why? Because the SNP needs a sharp, focussed opposition biting at its ankles, and Scottish Labour needs to be reminded of its purpose. A leadership election would be the very tonic.
Gordon Brown is the Leader of the Laboru Party in Scotland. Jack McConnell is the Leader of the Labour Group in the Scottish Parliament. The only people who can't grasp that are those who dont understand the difference between devolution and independence or rather don't want to understand the difference
I would prefer that McConnell could wait until the honeymoon period of the government comes to an end but I think he must go sooner because the party needs to prepare for a UK general election. It is essential that the party in Scotland is seen differently by voters and at least a new leader would get the party into newspapers and on television. At the moment the party in Scotland seems to be seen as irreverent by the media.
"Jack McConnell has his detractors - including a few outside the Labour Party"
Have you had too much sun Brian? Jack Mc is universally reviled not only within his parliamentary group but throughout Scotland.
I am sure the real lightweights of the Scottish Parliament would consider it inflammatory that he was considered to number among them.
Disclosure: I'm very SNP and pro-independance.
However it seems to me that Labour needs to - for it's own sake - make an entirely separate Scottish Labour with a true and separate and (unaccountable to Westminster) Scottish Labour leadership.
They can maintain their pro-shackles (sorry, Union) viewpoint but that way they can argue it both from an English/Union perspective in Westminster and from a separate Scottish perspective in Scotland.
As it stands, they just end up looking like English lapdogs; which doesn't help the level of politicking in Scotland in my opinion.
Jack should stay on. After all, as time goes by, the mantle of leader of the opposition will shrink to fit him.
Personally, I am pleased to see the back of JM. He would make me cringe
when he meet genuine leaders and I
find him to be am embarassment to
Scotland. Having been a Labour supporter for over 40 years, I voted
SNP this time purely because of JM.
It riles me that this nonentity could
be rewarded for his abysmal performance.
As an ex-pat trying to keep up, just remind me what EFFECTIVE action Jock McFlannel undertook to curb sectarianism ? Did he face down the "Ludj" and their drunken marchers ? Did he tell the Catholic Church that their blackmail-style of opposition to integrated campuses proved them antediluvian bigots ?
He was a light-weight chancer and we deserve something better, no matter what the party colours
They need someone who can head off the grave threat to our country that is represented by the minority SNP nationalist movement. They need to start talking for the ordinary Scott who knows that our future is one where Scotland remain an active part of the Union. That above all else should be the primary concern of all the mainstream parties in Holyrood.
Brian
For a man who was advertised as taking a step back from blogging while the holiday season was upon us, events have kept you busy.
Without the apparatus of power to give some oxygen to its dying embers of political thinking, the current opposition looks devoid of talent.
Whether a new leader will change that is questionable - I think Labour in Scotland is disappearing off our radars
My money is on George Foulkes to be next leader of the scottish labour party-he's clearly been parachuted in by Labour London HQ to keep things in order for Gordon Brown.
I, rather naively, used to listen with interest to the political opinions and writings of Brian Taylor but since this blog began and since the SNP assumed power his uncomfortabley blatant bias against the SNP, independence, and future Scottish autonomy has left me unwilling to take seriously any comment from Brian Taylor. The Kirsty Wark esacpades recently revealed the Scottish Labour have suffcient suppoort within the British Broascasting Corporation and I'm sure, during the election, their 'little reminder', during a meeting about impartialisty, did no harm to the Labour cause. I expect impartial, reasoned, and serious reporting and interpretation of political news events.
So when good old Union Jack McConnell is making his mind up as to whats best for him and the Scottish Labour Party, the knives are drawn within the ranks of the Labour MSP's.
Wendy Alexander......hmmm let me think who was running the Holyrood Leadersh...wwooops Election Strategy from London........Little Dougie Alexander, he may have to be called North to referee any fall-out from his sisters potential appointment.
U.J. may have his faults but he did run a tight ship on the man - management front.
With Wendy at the helm it could be a case of lighting the blue touch paper!