ANDY Kerr launched his campaign for the Scottish Labour leadership yesterday as bookmakers made him the outright favourite to succeed Wendy Alexander.
The East Kilbride MSP will contest the leadership election against Iain Gray and Cathy Jamieson and yesterday became the last of three to set out his agenda formally.
At the launch, Mr Kerr, who was surrounded by his family, promised to push throu
gh plans for a £360 million initiative to extend provision of 800 hours of free child care a year to all two-year-olds – at present it is available for three- to five-year-olds.
He also signalled he may support a referendum on independence, saying he "recognised the right of the Scottish people to decide their constitutional future". But he stressed he would not support the SNP's current 2010 timetable. He added: "Mr Salmond has to act in a responsible manner when he brings forward his ideas on that, because at the moment we don't have the detail, we don't have any guarantee that it's a 'neverendum'."
Mr Kerr said if he won the leadership he would want to take greater direct control as leader of the Scottish Labour Party, not just the party in Holyrood.
And he had a warning for the First Minister that his "day of reckoning is coming", especially over the proposed local income tax, which he branded "a shambles".
"He (Alex Salmond] has also got his own credit crunch coming along," Mr Kerr said. "It is coming in terms of the financing of this country."
He went on: "I will be a bold Scottish leader. My fellow Scots, I'll focus my energies on making your hopes – and your ambitions – reality. I will fear no-one and I will do whatever it takes to deliver these promises.
"We – Scottish Labour – face a hell of a challenge. We all know where we've been. We all know things have gone wrong. But, from this point on, it's about the future. We have an opportunity to work together to win again. It is an opportunity I am ready to seize."
Shortly after the launch, Mr Kerr was quoted by Ladbrokes as the clear favourite at 1/2, with Mr Gray on 3/1 and Ms Jamieson, the left-wing candidate, even further back at odds of 4/1.
However, as nominations closed, Mr Gray, the MSP for East Lothian, had the most support from MSPs, with 13 nominators from all around Scotland. This included a late addition by Glasgow Cathcart MSP Charlie Gordon, who had hoped to run as leader himself.
He also received late backing from John Park MSP, of Mid Scotland and Fife, who he hopes will bring with him a lot of trade union support. Mr Kerr had ten nominators and Ms Jamieson 12.
Mr Gray said that he was delighted with the backing he had received and some close supporters admitted surprise that he had come out on top in the number of MSPs giving support.
Ms Jamieson, who kicked off her campaign on Tuesday, continued her pitch to take the party back to traditional left-wing values by saying that she wants to see a substantial increase in student bursaries.
She has already called for a windfall tax on energy companies and supported the powerful Co-operative movements demands that Network Rail is mutualised on a not-for-profit basis.
"I believe that your background should not have to determine your future," she said. "I'd like to see a substantial expansion in student bursaries. The SNP's abolition of the graduate endowment will not help talented, bright young people from less affluent backgrounds get into university in the first place."
Nominations also closed for the post of deputy leader, which was made vacant by Ms Jamieson who decided to concentrate on the leadership election.
Just two candidates have emerged – Bill Butler, Glasgow Anniesland MSP and Johann Lamont, Glasgow Pollok MSP.
Ms Lamont appears to be an early front-runner with 17 nominators compared to Mr Butler's seven.
Among her nominators was Des McNulty, Milngavie MSP, who many people thought would run for the deputy post himself.
The ContendersCATHY JAMIESONConstituency: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
MSP nominators: Bill Butler, Malcolm Chisholm, Cathie Craigie, Patricia Ferguson, Marlyn Glen, Rhoda Grant, Hugh Henry, Cathy Jamieson, James Kelly, Elaine Murray, Cathy Peattie, Karen Whitefield
Where support lies: Trade unions and many grassroots members
Campaign pitch: The need to go back to traditional Labour values
Policy announcements: Mutualising network rail, calling for a windfall tax on energy companies, increasing bursaries for students
Key quote: "I want to rebuild the party, but I want to do that with a view to getting the message across to people in parts of Scotland particularly where we have, for whatever reason, lost contact with them"
Odds:4/1
ANDY KERRConstituency: East Kilbride
MSP nominators: Jackie Baillie, Karen Gillon, Andy Kerr, Ken Macintosh, Paul Martin, Frank McAveety, Michael McMahon, Duncan McNeil, Pauline McNeill, Peter Peacock
Where support lies: Greater Glasgow, where Mr Kerr was a senior council official, and the remnants of Team Wendy, who supported Wendy Alexander
Campaign pitch: Keen to promote his image as a family man and experience as a former health and finance minister
Policy announcements: 800 hours a year free childcare or nursery education for every child aged two to five
Key quote: "Alex Salmond has got his day of reckoning as First Minister"
Odds: 1/2
IAIN GRAYConstituency: East Lothian
MSP nominators: Claire Baker, Richard Baker, Sarah Boyack, Rhona Brankin, Margaret Curran, Helen Eadie, George Foulkes, Charlie Gordon, Iain Gray, Des McNulty, John Park, Richard Simpson, David Stewart
Where support lies: MPs in Westminster where he once worked, some younger activists and a wide spread of MSPs
Campaign pitch: Claims to be a serious, thoughtful politician who would compare well to Alex Salmond's playground politics. Wants to heal past party rifts and admits that Labour did "not do enough in power"
Policy announcements: No to a referendum in 2010.
Key quote: "I am as Scottish as Alex Salmond"
Odds: 3/1
Rumbles makes Home Rule manifesto pleaMIKE Rumbles yesterday called for Home Rule for Scotland as he launched his manifesto to lead the Liberal Democrats in Scotland.
Mr Rumbles sent a manifesto to party members with his key aims, ahead of the first two hustings next Saturday against rivals Tavish Scott and Ross Finnie.
Top of the list was his vision of Scotland's future which would see the country run itself, raise its own taxes, have complete control of oil revenues, but stay within the UK for defence and foreign affairs.
He argues that Scotland should send money to Westminster to support these wider services rather than Westminster sending money to Holyrood to fund domestic services.
Other policies included making 50 per cent of new homes affordable; opposing ID cards and the increase of a surveillance society, especially more CCTV; and opposing nuclear energy.
"It is important that as Liberal Democrats we have our own distinctive brand and policies," he said. "My manifesto offers exactly that, especially on our constitutional future."
The current party position is to support greater devolution, but Mr Rumbles's policy would take this much further.
While Shetland MSP Mr Scott is still the favourite to win the leadership, Mr Rumbles, the West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MSP, and Mr Finnie, an MSP for West of Scotland, are seen as having a chance of beating him.
Hustings will be on 9 August in Glasgow and Edinburgh followed by 16 August in Inverness and Aberdeen. The winner will be declared on 26 August.
John Hutton gives Gordon Brown belated backingGORDON Brown received the grudging backing of a Blairite Cabinet minister yesterday as a poll suggested his main rival, David Miliband, may not be any more successful at a General Election than the beleaguered Prime Minister.
Business Secretary John Hutton insisted that Labour could win the next election – but failed to mention Mr Brown, as Mr Miliband had done in a controversial newspaper article earlier this week.
When he was pressed on the omission, Mr Hutton snapped: "For heaven's sake, let's get serious. Of course we can win with Gordon as our leader."
The incident came as only 15 per cent of respondents to a YouGov poll said Mr Brown was "up to the job" – 65 per cent saw him as a liability, compared with 25 per cent when he entered 10 Downing Street a year ago.
Overall, the poll put Labour on 25 per cent and the Tories on 47 per cent. Asked to imagine Mr Miliband as leader, Labour's figure dropped to 24 per cent.
The full article contains 1444 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
