Scottish Labour Leader Nomination

Labour needs to learn lessons from our successes, not just our defeats. Andy Burnham's by-election victory in Makerfield and Scottish Labour wins in Rutherglen and Hamilton in South Lanarkshire show that our sister party can win when rooted in communities and serious about changing people’s lives.
That’s why I am standing to lead Scottish Labour. I am not here to hang around. I am here to get things done.

I am not new to leadership. I led one of Scotland’s largest local authorities, with a £1 billion budget and an 16,000-strong workforce. I was a Labour and Co-op Council Leader, who put Co-op policy into practice – introducing the Fair Tax Charter to drive tax avoidance out of our supply chain, procuring more locally as a Community Wealth Builder and revamping our Renewable Energy Fund.

Now I am standing to help Scottish Labour reconnect with the working-class voters who decide elections. I am here to reach out beyond the Holyrood bubble and into communities. I want us to build local power and local wealth.

To that end, Scottish Labour led by me will champion a Scottish Employee Ownership Bill and take Community Wealth Building national by unlocking investment from our public sector pension funds.
I have been Labour and Co-op all my political life, from back when I was a teenage Fairtrade activist campaigning to make East Kilbride a Fairtrade town to my time in local government to becoming MSP for South Scotland. The Scottish Co-operative Party have been with me every step of the way and I have been there for the Scottish Co-operative Party. Together let’s lead.

I know my campaign is bold – but continuity won’t cut it. It’s time for new leadership to put communities first and back Scotland’s workers and wealth builders.

The Scottish Labour leadership election is an important moment for our party and for the co-operative movement. I am asking for your support because I believe Scotland needs a leader who can unite our movement, win public confidence and deliver a Scottish Labour government that puts co-operative values into practice.

For the past five years, I have been proud to serve as co-chair of the Scottish Co-operative Party Parliamentary Group, championing employee ownership, community wealth building and democratic business models. I have consistently advanced co-operative ideas through legislation, amendments, parliamentary questions, debates and engagement with ministers, including pressing the Scottish Government to do more to support employee-owned businesses.
My record is built on more than 20 years of public service: ten years as an MSP, five years in local government and a professional career as a chartered town planner working across housing, planning and development. Throughout my career, I have brought together communities, businesses and public bodies to build consensus and deliver change.

As an MSP, I have shown that determined campaigning can achieve lasting results. From leading the campaign to end period poverty to championing the right to food, land reform, affordable housing, community energy and better public transport, I have worked to turn Labour and co-operative values into action. The Scottish Co-operative Party's support for my Ecocide Bill reflected our shared commitment to protecting the common good.

As Leader of Scottish Labour, I will champion employee ownership, strengthen community wealth building and make Scotland the best place in the UK to start, grow and sustain co-operatives. My immediate priority will be growing the number of co-operators in local government and supporting our councillors and candidates.

With Andy Burnham now serving as the UK's first Co-operative Prime Minister, we have a unique opportunity to put co-operative values at the heart of government. I hope to earn your support to help make that happen in Scotland too.