CONCERNS were raised yesterday over the propriety of youth endorsements for Labour rightwingers Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale, as ballot papers for the party’s Scottish leadership began to hit doormats.

The Blairite “dream ticket” was backed by the committees of Scottish Young Labour and the Scottish Organisation of Labour Students (SOLS) less than a week before they held members’ conferences — where critics say a more democratic decision on who to back could have been made.

In contrast to the scores of members present at the conferences, only a handful of members were present at the committee meetings last Monday. 

SOLS voted to endorse Mr Murphy by seven votes to five, and Ms Dugdale by eight votes to four. Scottish Young Labour backed Mr Murphy by six votes to three.

One member told the Star that support was divided “about 50/50” between Mr Murphy and leftwinger Neil Findlay at the conference hustings.

And newly elected Scottish Young Labour chairman Owen Mooney yesterday threw his weight behind Mr Findlay’s campaign. “Having had the chance to hear what the three candidates have to say, I am in no doubt that the candidate who offers the best chance of Labour winning back Scotland for Labour is Neil Findlay,” he said.

“He has a clear agenda for social and economic justice. He is committed to keeping education free, and his promise for a living wage and tackling the zero-hours contracts that disproportionately impact young workers is the right recipe for Scotland and its people.”

Although the deadline for nominations had passed by the time the Scottish Young Labour and SOLS conferences had taken place, members pointed out on social media that the organisations could have asked for an extension or made a supportive statement rather than an official nomination.

The organisations have the right to nominate candidates as party affiliates — but their endorsements are not substantive. This contrasts with parliamentarians, whose signatures must be collected by candidates in order to gain a place on the ballot paper.

Mr Findlay and left-wing deputy leadership contender Katy Clark have been endorsed by the Labour clubs at Glasgow and Aberdeen Universities.