Scottish Labour leadership contest heats up amid allegations of 'misogyny'

Both Katy Clark and Monica Lennon, who are on the left of the party, were reportedly struggling to win enough support from MPs and MSPs to get their names on the ballot, as nominations open today.

The vacancy has arisen after new Prime Minister Andy Burnham appointed Anas Sarwar to the House of Lords, so he can take up a position as a trade minister in the UK government.

Clark, a life peer who took a leave of absence from the Lords to sit as an MSP and is currently serving as a Deputy Presiding Officer in the Scottish Parliament, has now said she will not run.

But she warned the party needs to be more "stridently left-wing" and that it needs to have more women candidates run for elected office.

Meanwhile Lennon - who is returning to Holyrood as a result of Sarwar's elevation to the Lords, which sparked fury among many Scottish Labour members - has suggested the two male candidates are expecting a contest without a female candidate.

However she has come under attack on social media for raising allegations of misogyny from those who believe she failed to support women who were critical of the Scottish Government's gender recognition reform plans. Her supporters point to her work on period poverty as proof of her feminist credentials.

Clark's decision could be good news for Lennon as left-wing support in the party might well now swing completely behind her.

All candidates have to get the backing of three MSPs and three MPs, as well as three affiliates, including two trade unions to get on the ballot.

It is understood that Michael Marra and Joe Fagan, the two make contenders, have secured the requisite six parliamentarians already ahead of nominations opening, but Lennon has not yet cleared that hurdle.

On social media she has claimed the contest “reeks of misogyny and male entitlement”.

She said: "We can’t accuse others of cronyism if we operate like a private members’ club, placing personal and factional ties above principles and the country. We must debate big ideas, find our backbone and rediscover boldness.

"This ‘contest’ reeks of misogyny and male entitlement. That’s the road to nowhere. We’re not here for a social life or to win an occasional debate. We were created to win power for working class communities and lead in government, not from the gutter."

And she added that while she had encouraged people to stand, "why do men expect a coronation or a ballot without women? I stand with Katy Clark and all women in our party."

She later told LBC: "I am concerned about the party culture. Promises were made to change how we behave towards each other and it hasn't happened.

"And there are too many people within the party who want to turn on each other. I've never been factional. I've always worked with people. Across our movement, across the party.

"I've campaigned for candidates, you know, over the years where there were fundamental political and policy differences, but I always went out and did the work.

"And to be fair, many colleagues probably feel that way about me. They've come out to put a shift in, even maybe when they didn't want to, to do that. But we have to getaway from arguing over these small differences and think about why we need to be Scottish Labour again."

She added: "I will be speaking to members, of course I will, but I'm also speaking to the country. And fundamentally, that really matters because the country has turned its back on Scottish Labour because they believe that we turned our back on them.

"That's what I care about. I want to change that, and I want to work across the party and the movement. So I want a fair hearing from MPs and MSPs and other parts of the party. I think all the candidates deserve that.

"Let's not just make up our minds based on who our closest friends are. We're not a little social club, we're a political party, we're a political movement."

Before nominations opened, Micharl Marra told LBC he was "humbled" by the support he had already received.

He added: “I’m running in this contest to unite and renew the Scottish Labour Party.

“Having spoken to and listened to colleagues across our movement it is clear we have to rediscover our sense of moral purpose.

“To offer hope again and to spell out what Scottish Labour is for, not simply who and what we are against. That means drawing on the strength and talent of all of our movement.”

Joe Fagan, who was previously the leader of South Lanarkshire Council, told LBC his campaign was "bold, but it is time to be bold, I'm not here to hang about, I'm here to shake up Scottish politics."

Party members and affiliated supporters are due to vote between August 28 and September 17. The new Scottish Labour leader will be announced on September 19.