Kezia Dugdale has announced that she would no longer continue to be the leader of the Scottish Labour party, which she says, is “a precious thing that has done so much” for the country. In an interview with the BBC, she reasoned that leaving the party wasn’t some whim, she took a lot of time to come to the decision of stepping down was from her role. She considers her decision of “passing the baton” of responsibility will be the “best thing” for the party, for which she has always “cared deeply”.
She said that she is glad to leave the party with her “head held high without any sort of crisis”. But she has also stated that she is leaving the party in a much better condition than it was when she had joined. Through her interview, she has made it clear that stepping down from her position was entirely her decision, discarding the political rumours that the decision was an outcome to evade conflicts with Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters.
She opines that at this moment the party requires a leader with “fresh energy, drive and a new mandate”. Referring to the next Holyrood elections, which is after four years in 2021, she said that the next leader who would fill her space, would get sufficient “space and time” to be ready for it.
Jeremy Corbyn, the UK Labour leader, said: “I’d like to thank Kezia Dugdale for her work as Scottish Labour leader and the important role she has played in rebuilding the party in Scotland. Kezia became Scottish leader at one of the most difficult times in the history of the Scottish Labour party and the party’s revival is now fully under way, with six new MPs and many more to come. I want to thank Kez for her tireless service to our party and movement, and look forward to campaigning with her in future.”
She earned other admirations from Nicola Sturgeon and Ed Miliband, who posted on Tweeter, praising her for the “guts and determination” and dedicating her “heart and soul to leading Scottish Labour” respectively.