Johann Lamont

Official parliamentary portrait, 2011

In the wake of Labour's second defeat at the Scottish Parliament election of May 2011, which saw the Scottish National Party (SNP) form its first majority government, Gray announced his intention to step down as leader of the Labour MSPs later that year.[45] A review chaired by Jim Murphy and Sarah Boyack into the party's structure in Scotland subsequently concluded that the next leader should lead the entire Scottish Labour Party rather than just its MSPs, as previous leaders had.[45][46][47][48] Lamont declared her candidacy for the leadership election in September 2011[49] and launched her campaign on 7 November at Stirling University.[50] She told delegates that Labour needed to reengage with the electorate if it wanted to govern again: "We must listen and learn, show humility and seek again to talk for and to people's ambitions and concerns. Our real challenge is that we in Labour lost our way, lost our confidence and lost Scotland."[50]

Lamont's opponents in the leadership race were the MP Tom Harris, and her fellow MSP Ken Macintosh, both of whom had also expressed a need for Labour to change if it was to win the next election.[51][52] Harris's campaign centred on the belief that Labour had to "[re-establish] itself as the party of aspiration", or it would risk becoming "an irrelevance".[53] Macintosh felt the party had focused too heavily on its traditional support in the Central Belt while paying less attention to rural communities.[53] He suggested increasing government help to tackle unemployment among young people, and wanted to nationalise rail and bus services.[53]

The result of the election was announced on 17 December 2011 and saw Lamont secure an overall majority with 51.77% of the vote in the first round. Her closest rival was Macintosh with 40.28%, while Harris was third with 7.95%. Lamont also won majorities in two groups of Labour's three-tier electoral college system, securing the support of parliamentarians and affiliated bodies such as trade unions. Macintosh was backed by the majority of individual party members.[45][54] In her acceptance speech, Lamont told party activists, "Together we will change the Scottish Labour Party and win the chance to serve the people of Scotland again and make Scotland all that we know it can be."[55] On the same day, MP Anas Sarwar was elected to the position of Deputy that Lamont had vacated.[45]

Lamont began appointing members of her shadow cabinet on 19 December 2011. Those given positions on her initial frontbench team include Macintosh (Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth), Hugh Henry (Labour spokesman for Education and Lifelong Learning), Lewis Macdonald (Shadow Justice Minister) and Boyack (Local Government and Planning). The post of Shadow Health Minister was given to Jackie Baillie, who had held the position previously.[56][57] Gray was not included, as he had expressed a wish to take a break from frontline politics.[58]

Lamont announced a major shakeup of the Labour frontbench team on 28 June 2013. Gray returned to replace Macintosh as the party's finance spokesman. Macdonald was appointed chief whip, and his previous role as Shadow Justice Minister was given to Graeme Pearson. Baillie was moved from Health to Social Justice and Welfare. Boyack kept her role in Local Government and Planning.[59] Speaking about the reshuffle, Lamont said, "We have made a great deal of progress in the last 18 months but we have to keep moving forward."[59]

Lamont gave her first post-election interview to The Politics Show Scotland on 18 December 2011, speaking of the "huge challenge" of rebuilding public trust in Scottish Labour after its election defeat of the previous May, and a general decline in support over the preceding decade.[60] Attributing the party's losses to its failure to engage with the electorate, she told the programme that Labour needed to speak up for the interests of the Scottish people, and accept more devolved powers for the Scottish Parliament.[60] Attending her first session of First Minister's Questions as Labour leader on 22 December 2011, she addressed the issue of child neglect following the conviction of a Glasgow woman for the murder of her son and asking what lessons could be learned from the case.[61]

In January 2012, as the SNP Government prepared for a referendum on Scottish independence, she spoke out in defence of Scotland's position in the United Kingdom after First Minister Salmond claimed that the country was not an equal partner in the union.[62] Along with Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie, the respective leaders of the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and Deputy First Minister Sturgeon, Lamont added her signature to a February 2012 letter urging Glasgow City Council to decline an application by the Scottish Defence League to stage a march through the city.[63] The group, an offshoot of the far-right English Defence League, subsequently withdrew their application, and a "static" demonstration was held instead.[64][65]

Lamont gave her first conference speech as party leader at Scottish Labour's conference in March 2012, setting out an agenda for rebuilding confidence in the party.[66] Later the same month she welcomed the passing of the Scotland Bill, which devolved further powers to Scotland in accordance with the recommendations of the Calman Commission, praising it as "an important development of devolution".[67] In May 2012 she participated in the Scottish Parliament debate paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth as the UK celebrated her Diamond Jubilee. Lamont commented, "60 years in the one job is good going – I've been in this one for just six months and some days, I have to say, it feels like 60 years – so we recognise the scale of the achievement of the particular, very strong woman."[68] Lamont was a guest on the 7 June 2012 edition of the BBC's political debate programme Question Time.[69]

A poll conducted by Ipsos MORI in December 2011 as Lamont took control of Scottish Labour indicated that the party had an approval rating of 26%, almost half that of the Scottish National Party with 51%.[70] A survey by the same organisation in June 2012 showed an improvement for Labour, with 32% against the Nationalists' 45%.[71] The same poll indicated a personal approval rating for Lamont of 9%, compared to 13% for Salmond.[72] A poll conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of STV in September 2013 indicated that 37% of respondents were satisfied with Labour's performance compared to 41% for the SNP.[73] That survey found that Lamont had a personal approval rating of +6%, against +8% for Salmond.[74] Another Ipsos MORI poll for STV in December 2013 showed Labour on 34% with 36% for the SNP, while Lamont had overtaken Salmond in terms of personal approval with +9 for her compared to +7 for the First Minister.[75]

A poll on the issue of Scottish independence conducted by TNS-BMRB in December 2013 gave Lamont an approval rating of 6% among women and 8% among men, compared with 22% and 30% respectively for Salmond. 41% of respondents to that survey were unaware of her role as Scottish Labour leader, a figure rising to 62% among those aged 16–34.[76]

Lamont launched Labour's 2012 local election campaign in Edinburgh on 17 April 2012, setting out policies for creating employment and training opportunities as well as improvements to education and childcare. Claiming that the SNP Government had passed on 89 percent of the spending cuts imposed by the UK Government, she compared the Nationalists to the businessman criticised for his role in the financial collapse of Glasgow Rangers Football Club, saying, "Putting the SNP in charge of a council is like putting Craig Whyte in charge of your tax return."[77][78] Retaining control of Glasgow City Council, where Labour was facing a strong challenge from the SNP, was another of the party's key objectives.[77] After the polls, political academic John Curtice, writing for The Guardian, observed that Lamont "has undoubtedly done enough to dispel doubts about whether she was the right woman for the job".[79]

The 2013 Dunfermline by-election was triggered by the resignation of the SNP's Bill Walker in the wake of his conviction on several accounts of domestic abuse.[80] On the eve of the poll, Alan Cochrane of The Daily Telegraph described it as an election Labour could not afford to lose because, "For [Lamont's] personal prestige, her candidate simply must win."[80] Labour won the seat with a swing of 7 percent from the SNP and a majority of 2,873.[81] Lamont said that the result reflected "the progress we've made",[82] but Curtice said that if the results were repeated across Scotland, the SNP would still be the majority party at the next election.[81]

Labour also increased their support at other by-elections. At the 2013 Aberdeen Donside by-election in June, held after the death of the SNP's Brian Adam, Labour reduced the SNP majority from 7,789 to 2,025.[83] The 2014 Cowdenbeath by-election was held following the death of Labour MSP Helen Eadie.[84] The campaign was fought on issues such as education, employment and care for the elderly, and saw Labour increase their share of the vote, with an 11.25 percent swing from the SNP and a majority of 5,488.[85]

Lamont (second from right) alongside Anas Sarwar, Gordon Brown and Margaret Curran at the launch of United with Labour

Lamont was a prominent figure in the Better Together Campaign, the cross-party political movement founded to keep Scotland as part of the United Kingdom following the SNP's announcement of a referendum on Scottish independence in 2014.[86][87][88] She was outspoken in her opposition to Scottish independence, using a keynote speech at UK Labour's 2013 conference in Brighton to accuse the SNP of nurturing hostility between Scotland and the rest of the UK, and describing nationalism as a "virus that has affected so many nations and done so much harm".[89] Lamont is in favour of greater devolved powers for the Scottish Parliament, and established a Commission to look at how this can be achieved.[90][91]

After taking office as Labour leader in December 2011, Lamont urged First Minister Salmond to set a date for the referendum, arguing in her leadership acceptance speech that uncertainty over the referendum's timeline was having a negative impact on Scotland.[45] On 10 January 2012 Salmond announced late 2014 as his preferred time for a referendum.[92] The Scottish Government confirmed the referendum question on 25 January 2012,[93] and announced on 21 March 2013 that the referendum would be held on 18 September 2014.[94] Lamont told Scottish Labour's 2012 annual conference she wanted her party's campaign to be one of "collective leadership" against independence,[95] a strategy which she envisaged would become a cross-party movement arguing the case for keeping Scotland in the UK.[96][97] At the Scottish Conservative Party conference a few weeks later, party leader Ruth Davidson called for Lamont and her opponents to work together.[98] The Better Together Campaign, fronted by former Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, was launched at an event attended by Lamont and other senior Scottish political figures at Edinburgh's Napier University on 25 June 2012.[86] Along with former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and other senior Scottish Labour figures, Lamont launched the party's own pro-union campaign, United with Labour in May 2013.[99][100] The Scottish Government published Scotland's Future, a white paper setting out its vision for an independent Scotland, on 26 November 2013. Lamont dismissed it as "670 pages of assertion and uncertainty".[101][102] Addressing the Shadow Cabinet of UK Labour leader Ed Miliband on 28 January 2014, Lamont warned that Scots could vote for independence if they believed Labour was unlikely to win the 2015 UK general election.[103]

Opinion polls showed an increase in support for the Yes campaign as the referendum approached. On 8 September 2014, Gordon Brown set out plans for greater devolved powers for Holyrood in the event of a No vote. Lamont joined Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie in giving her backing to the proposals the following day, but Salmond dismissed them as "a retreading, a repackaging, a re-timetabling" of previous promises. Prime Minister David Cameron and Opposition leader Ed Miliband cancelled their appearance at Prime Minister's Questions to travel to Scotland to campaign for a No vote.[104] On 18 September, Scotland voted to reject independence with a majority of 2,001,926 to 1,617,989.[105] Salmond announced his intention to resign as First Minister and SNP leader on 19 September, shortly after the result of the referendum was confirmed. Lamont paid tribute to him, describing him as "an immense figure in Scottish political history".[105] Sturgeon was chosen to succeed Salmond as SNP leader on 15 October.[106]

At the Scottish Labour Party Conference in March 2012, Lamont announced her intention to establish a Commission to examine the prospect of a fully devolved Scottish Parliament.[90][91] This would give the Scottish Government the power to make decisions on policies relating to issues such as welfare benefits, income tax and corporation tax, effectively making it a fully self-governing region of the United Kingdom.[90] The Commission, chaired by Lamont and including politicians, academics and trade union members, met for the first time in October 2012.[91] It published an interim report in April 2013, recommending that Scotland have autonomy over income tax, but leaving decisions on corporation tax and welfare to the UK Parliament.[107][108] But party members opposed it, warning that the plans could threaten the Barnett formula, the financial mechanism under which Scotland receives an annual average of £1,600 per head more in UK Government spending than does the rest of the UK.[107] Ian Davidson, chair of the House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee said the proposals could affect spending in poorer areas.[107] Macintosh subsequently warned that devolving responsibility for income tax would reduce the Scottish tax base and result in independence by default,[109] a claim that Guy Lodge and Alan Trench of the Institute for Public Policy Research called "highly disingenuous" because income tax makes up only 23% of the taxes collected by the UK Government.[110]

The Commission's final report, Powers for a Purpose was published on 18 March 2014, setting out recommendations that would be implemented if Scotland voted no in the referendum, and Labour were elected in 2015.[111][112][113] The proposals included allowing the Scottish Parliament to raise as much as 40% of its annual revenue, and giving it greater leeway to vary income tax rates from those in the rest of the UK.[114][115] The plans would build on the powers devolved under the 2012 Scotland Act, which legislated for an increase in responsibility over taxation from 2016, in exchange for a 10% reduction in the grant received from Westminster.[111][115][116] The Commission also recommended devolving responsibility in some other fiscal areas, such as the payment of Housing Benefit and the possible levy of a mansion tax in Scotland, but decided against taking charge of other financial matters, including state pensions, National Insurance and tariffs on North Sea oil.[111] Other proposals were to retain the Barnett formula, give Scotland control over its railways, and transfer authority for dissolving parliament and holding elections from Westminster to Holyrood.[112][115] Lamont described the proposals as "the right balance between fiscal accountability and insuring us against risk".[117] Ben Thomson, chair of the cross-party Devo Plus think tank argued the plans were "just tinkering with the current system" and would allow the SNP to "say that the unionist parties aren't interested in real devolution".[118] Deputy First Minister Sturgeon welcomed the prospect of increased devolution, but said a vote for independence was the only way to ensure greater powers for Scotland as "there [was] no guarantee that any new powers would be delivered in the event of a no vote".[111] The proposals were subsequently endorsed by delegates at Scottish Labour's 2014 party conference.[119]

In September 2012, Lamont announced a policy review of Scotland's universal benefits, signalling that a future Labour administration would reverse many of the free services introduced since power was devolved to Scotland.[120] Launching the review at an address to party delegates in Edinburgh, she questioned whether services such as prescriptions and tuition fees—which are free in Scotland—should continue to be available to all, regardless of income, and suggested the situation was unsustainable:[121] "I believe our resources must go to those in greatest need ... Salmond's most cynical trick was to make people believe that more was free, when the poorest are paying for the tax breaks for the rich ... Scotland cannot be the only something-for-nothing country in the world."[120][121]

The speech was condemned by the SNP, which branded it as "Blairite", while deputy party leader Sturgeon called the strategy "disastrous".[10][121] The approach was also questioned by Richard Seymour of The Guardian, who suggested it could damage Labour's electoral appeal: "Outside Scotland, this policy would merely be a gift to the Tories, by corroborating their arguments for welfare cuts. In Scotland, it reminds ex-Labour voters why they defected to the SNP: as a defensive shield against such policies."[122] Owen Jones of The Independent suggested it was "a baffling political strategy to outflank the SNP from the right".[123]

Lamont returned to the issue of universal tuition fees again in a speech in Glasgow on 17 December 2012 to mark the first anniversary of her election as Labour leader. She suggested that the Graduate Endowment, a system abolished by the SNP Government, could be reinstated if Labour were re-elected at the next Scottish parliamentary election. Ian Grant, a retired college principal, welcomed her comments as "courageous", but Jamie Kinlochan, a member of the National Union of Students Scotland expressed concerns that students would be discouraged by extra financial costs on top of loans and other expenses.[124]

In January 2014, Lamont and Scottish Labour faced criticism after the party voted against an SNP motion that included the introduction of free school meals for pupils in their first three years of primary education, and a commitment to childcare for pre-school children.[125] The motion also contained measures that would only be implemented in the event of Scottish independence, something Labour said it could not support.[125][126] Recalling her experience of teaching underprivileged children, Lamont told the parliament that free school meals would not be her priority, and tabled an unsuccessful amendment calling for greater childcare provisions instead.[126][127] The motion was later passed by a majority of 67–46.[128] In The Daily Telegraph, Cochrane wrote that the strategy had allowed the SNP to claim Labour opposed the principle of free school meals because they "fell for a bit of skulduggery that Ms Lamont and her business managers should have seen coming a mile off".[125]

In 2013, Labour and Police Scotland launched separate investigations into claims that officials of the Unite union had signed their members up to Labour to get their preferred candidate adopted to represent the party in the Falkirk constituency. The union officials were later cleared of any wrongdoing.[129] It was later claimed that key evidence thought to have been retracted had not been withdrawn, prompting several Falkirk councillors to urge Miliband to publish details of the party's internal inquiry or to hold a fresh investigation.[129] On the 4 November edition of Good Morning Scotland, Lamont said there was a case for a fresh inquiry, but that Labour does not publish details of its internal investigations.[129][130] Later the same day, Labour said that it would not be reopening the investigation.[131] Miliband subsequently said that a new investigation was unnecessary.[132] On 8 December the former MSP Karen Whitefield was selected to contest the seat.[133] The report into Labour's inquiry was leaked to the media in February 2014, and concluded there was "no doubt" that Unite had attempted to manipulate the selection process.[134]

In October 2013 Lamont faced criticism for her reaction to an industrial dispute at the Grangemouth Oil Refinery.[135] Ineos, the company that operates the plant, had stated that the refinery was making financial losses, and had proposed a survival plan requiring employees to accept worse employment terms, notably changes in work rules and less generous pensions; this the employees rejected. The company mothballed the plant, threatening to close it if the terms were not accepted.[135] Lamont urged Ineos to withdraw its conditions and for both sides to hold talks, while Salmond tried to negotiate an agreement. Union officials eventually agreed not to call a strike for at least three years, and the plant reopened.[136] The Ineos chairman, Calum MacLean, described Lamont's support for the trade unions during the dispute as "deeply irresponsible", while Salmond claimed she had been silent throughout the disagreement.[135][136] Writing for the Dunfermline Press, Natalie McGarry suggested that while the Labour leader's silence probably had much to do with the continuing Falkirk selection row, ultimately she was "found wanting".[137]

Scotland voted by a 10% margin against independence, but the referendum returned "Yes" votes in some traditional Labour strongholds, particularly Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, prompting media speculation about Lamont's future as the party's leader.[138] Shortly after the referendum, Shadow International Development Secretary Jim Murphy was discussing taking over from her,[139] while The Herald reported that party delegates concerned about the results had started to view Murphy as a possible successor.[140] Lamont had attempted to quash rumours of a leadership challenge at the 25 September 2014 session of First Minister's Questions, the first of the post-referendum era. "When the First Minister is long gone I will still be doing my job on behalf of the people of Scotland."[138] Her position remained uncertain. Alan Cochrane wrote that many Labour MPs in Scotland feared losing their seats at the 2015 general election without a change of leadership.[141] In October, two former first ministers voiced their concern about the direction of the party. McConnell expressed fears that Labour would experience increased difficulty in regaining the confidence of Scottish voters following the election of Sturgeon as SNP leader, and described the party as "a political machine that is angry about what has happened in Scotland in the recent past".[142] Shortly afterwards, his predecessor, Henry McLeish suggested Labour had ceded "enormous ground to the SNP unnecessarily" because its supporters no longer understood "what the party stands for".[142] Margaret Curran, the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, said that although the party was changing, it needed to reconnect with its "socialist principles".[143]

Lamont's resignation as Labour leader was reported by media outlets on the evening of 24 October 2014, following the publication of an interview with the Daily Record in which she announced her intention to step down with immediate effect.[141][144] She told the newspaper that she was resigning because Labour's Westminster leadership had undermined her attempts to reform the party in Scotland, and treated Scottish Labour "like a branch office of London."[141] She described some London-based colleagues as "dinosaurs" unable to understand that "Scotland has changed forever" following the referendum. Lamont was also angry that she had not been consulted on some matters, such as a decision by the UK leadership to replace Ian Price as Scottish Labour's General Secretary.[144][145] In her letter of resignation, submitted to Scottish Labour Party Chairman Jamie Glackin, Lamont accused "senior members of the party" of questioning her role and said that she was taking herself "out of the equation" to allow Scottish Labour to have a discussion about the best way forward.[146] Anas Sarwar became Labour's acting leader. On 26 October, following a meeting of the party's executive committee, he outlined the details of a leadership election, which would be held using the three-tier electoral college, and conclude with the announcement of a new leader on 13 December.[147] Murphy, Boyack and Neil Findlay stood in the subsequent contest, with Murphy elected as Lamont's successor.[148] Lamont did not vote for Murphy in the election, but instead chose to back his rivals.[149]

Miliband paid tribute to Lamont shortly after she announced that she intended to relinquish the leadership role, saying she had "led the Scottish Labour Party with determination".[150] McLeish and McConnell both indicated that Lamont's sudden departure following weeks of speculation could have implications for Miliband's leadership. McLeish said that Miliband's chance of becoming Prime Minister could be affected if Labour returned fewer Scottish MPs in 2015, something he called a problem of "historic, epic proportions",[141] while McConnell said that he was "very, very angry" and suggested Miliband had questions to answer about the circumstances surrounding the resignation.[141] Salmond echoed the views of his predecessor, arguing that Miliband "should be answering questions about why Labour in Scotland is run as an extension of his Westminster office, and why he has effectively forced the resignation of a Labour leader in Scotland."[151] Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, rejected Lamont's claims about UK Labour's treatment of its Scottish counterpart.[152] Ian Davidson claimed that supporters of Murphy, who subsequently announced his intention to stand in the leadership contest to succeed Lamont, had conducted a whispering campaign against her. He further suggested that those on the right of the party had resented her election as leader and ignored her, treating her as a "wee lassie".[153]