Conrad Landin
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LABOUR MSP Neil Findlay has accused “visceral Blairite has-beens” of “gobbing poison” at Westminster frontbenchers and party staff.
In a new regular column for the Morning Star today, the former Holyrood frontbencher also hits out at “Chuka Umunna, ‘Milkman Mike’ Gapes and their wee gang of egotists” who deserted Labour to form the Independent Group, before themselves splintering.
Mr Findlay, who left Scottish Labour’s front bench after the European Parliament elections and announced his intention to stand down from Holyrood, writes: “Parliamentary Labour Party meetings [at Westminster] appear to have all the allure of a torture chamber, with a visceral group of Blairite has-beens joining the disenchanted and entitled, gobbing poison at any member of Labour’s front-bench or backroom team who dares to stand out against their view of the world.
“These same people claimed an against-the-odds victory in the Peterborough by-election was actually a disaster and welcomed the winner Lisa Forbes to her first PLP meeting with a call for her expulsion. I shit you not.”
The Lothian MSP was elected to Holyrood in a surprise result of the 2011 poll, in which Labour gained seats on regional lists after suffering losses in constituencies. A former bricklayer, housing officer and teacher, he went on to become the figurehead of the Labour left at Holyrood. He stood for the Scottish Labour leadership in 2014, but lost to Jim Murphy.
Mr Findlay led Jeremy Corbyn’s 2015 leadership campaign in Scotland and backed Richard Leonard for the Scottish Labour leadership in 2017, going on to serve on his front bench before stepping down in May.
In the forthright article, Mr Findlay also takes aim at SNP politicians for demanding “a confirmatory referendum on Brexit but not on leaving the UK” and claiming that breaking the Union could be done easily in 18 months. “Jeez, these magic mushrooms are strong,” he jibes.
He argues the case for “a planned, progressive, sustainable, socialist approach” to the economy and society, saying this is the key to ensuring that “hope and optimism … prevail over hate and division.”
