Leader: Johann Lamont must act on her words of reform

Congratulations to Johann Lamont, elected not just as leader of the Scottish Labour Party’s MSPs, as her predecessors were, but as leader of all the various parts of Scottish Labour.

That, plus her first-ballot win, should mean that there is no internal questioning of her authority.

The only question mark is that rival MSP Ken Macintosh, who came second, out-polled her among ordinary members, suggesting that they are more aware than Labour’s elected representatives and the trade unions of the need for the party to re-stake a claim on the political centre-ground in order to challenge the dominance of the SNP. Ms Lamont will have to recognise the dangers of being seen to be a mouthpiece of the unions, not a leader who speaks for the party and the country, from the opposition benches at Holyrood.

Still, in her words of acceptance she also demonstrated she understands Labour has to stop taking voters for granted, and, to be taken seriously, has to reform itself. That will be a hard task, for Scottish Labour has behaved like a closed shop trade union of yesteryear, preoccupied with protecting its self-interest, including the positions of those at the top of the party political ladder and the interests of its sectional groupings such as councillors and trade unions.

“Openness” and “transparency” are not words that immediately spring to mind when trying to define the party. But they are very much what the public now demands of its political institutions. If Ms Lamont can convert her initial reforming words into actions, her authority will grow and with it, Labour’s challenge to the SNP.