Scottish Labour's Kezia Dugdale urged to back a re-elected Corbyn

  • Published
Kezia Dugdale and Jeremy Corbyn [centre of picture] campaigned togetherImage source, AP
Image caption,

Kezia Dugdale and Jeremy Corbyn campaigned together in the weeks before the EU referendum vote

Labour's Shadow Scottish Secretary Dave Anderson has urged the party's leader in Scotland, Kezia Dugdale, to back Jeremy Corbyn if he is re-elected.

The MSP has questioned whether Mr Corbyn could do the leader job without the support of Westminster colleagues.

In July he lost a vote of confidence among Labour MPs by 172 to 40.

Mr Corbyn is hoping to retain the leadership by beating challenger Owen Smith. The winner of the contest will be announced on 24 September.

Speaking to BBC Scotland, Mr Anderson said senior figures in the party should accept the membership vote if Mr Corbyn were to win.

He admitted leading an effective opposition would be harder without the support of Ms Dugdale and most MPs, but he believed it was the duty of the party to make the situation work.

Image caption,

Dave Anderson took on the Shadow Scottish Secretary post after Labour's Ian Murray resigned

Mr Anderson, the MP for Blaydon in the north east of England, became shadow Scottish secretary after Scotland's only Labour MP, Ian Murray, quit the post.

The Edinburgh politician resigned days after the EU referendum, saying Mr Corbyn was not the right person to lead a Labour revival.

At the time, he told the BBC: "He's a decent human being, a lovely man who I get on incredibly well with. But he just can't lead the Labour Party and I don't think the public think he can be prime minister."

On Thursday, Mr Anderson said he would be happy to step down from his shadow position if Mr Murray wanted it back.

Related Internet Links

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.