For some of us it’s been long overdue but she’s finally done the right thing and resigned. Remarkable as it is that it should be questions over fund-raising for her leadership contest in which she was the only candidate, effectively her own ego was her undoing.
Here’s her resignation speech:
She could have assumed the role with a quiet confidence that no-one opposed her, that she was leader by virtue of her over-whelming wealth of experience and power of personality, yet instead she succumbed to ‘hustings’ at which she was the only participant, she allowed herself to be placed on a pedastole. She should have known, in Scotland, we’re only too happy to smack you back down if you get ahead of yourself.
It seems likely to me that Wendy would have been forced to resign relatively quickly anyway, given her complete failure to coherently lead her party in any meaningful way. The last year (in fact it’s been less than that) has been a number of gaffs and failures to perform, the fact that Alex Salmond is a political heavyweight in these parts didn’t help her cause any either.
But who to replace her with? The real might of the UK parties really reside in Westminster and many of their devolved counterparts are something of a backstreet freak-show by comparison … which is saying something given some of the assorted freaks we’ve had to endure from Westminster, David Mellor anyone?!!
Labour Scotland is in a bit of bother, there isn’t exactly a ready supply of obvious talent, many of the possibles have already been tainted by their role in the previous Labour administration and some of the disasters presided over in the preceding decade … where will they turn? I don’t have a clue. But while you ponder that question why not remind yourself of what Wendy did to get us to this point in the first place:
Whoever replaces the forlorn lass that wis Windy we can only hope that they provide some sort of opposition that is so important to the effective running of government.
