LABOUR was warned not to “shoot the messenger” yesterday after the party’s Scottish leader Jim Murphy attacked unions in his resignation speech.

MPs, MSPs and trade unions had called on the leading Blairite to do the decent thing and resign after he steered Scottish Labour to a catastrophic electoral wipeout that left it with just a single seat north of the border.

But announcing his resignation at the weekend Mr Murphy blamed a “small minority” who would not accept a 17-14 vote of confidence by the Scottish Labour executive — and dramatically lashed out at Unite leader Len McCluskey, calling his support the “kiss of death.”

Former MP Ian Davidson warned the Star that such talk would only further harm the party’s chances of recovery.

“Let’s not shoot the messenger here,” he said. “Len McCluskey is actually more in step with working people in Scotland than the current Labour leadership is.”

Mr Murphy denied that he was attacking the trade union link in general, but added that when he formally resigns next month he will table a “comprehensive report” outlining proposed changes — including a one member, one vote system for electing the leadership that would deny affiliated workers a voice.

Mr Davidson said any such change would be “a distraction.

“We didn’t lose because we had the wrong structure, but because we had the wrong message.

“Add to that the fact that the number of members in Scotland is a secret and I worry about it. Before you rush to one person one vote maybe you should clarify how many persons you’re talking about and expose the scale of the problem we face.”

Mr McCluskey did not return the Scottish Labour leader’s personal abuse, telling BBC Radio that Mr Murphy was “hurting at the moment.”

Scottish Labour figures including Vince Mills and Katy Clark have argued for an autonomous or even independent party north of the border which is better able to address the priorities of Scottish voters — a stance the British party leadership hopeful Andy Burnham promised to look into yesterday.

But Mr Morrison urged caution, pointing out that it could undermine working-class unity across the British nations.

“A federal set-up would be an advance, allowing Scottish Labour to reflect the views of the membership in Scotland without breaking the required class unity,” he said.

But he warned that the party would have to address the real reasons for its defeat rather than seeking to find a “bogeyman” to blame.

“It is the challenge of the Labour Party to demonstrate that it is the voice of organised labour,” he said, adding that Unite could disaffiliate if Labour failed to show that.

And Communist Party Scottish secretary Tom Morrison argued that “the kiss of death for the Labour Party would be a return to Blairism,” pointing to Mr Murphy’s record of support for Trident, the Iraq war and tuition fees.

“Unite and other trade unions argue for policies which are actually popular, for example opposing austerity and renationalising the utilities.”
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