Opinion: Scottish Labour is at a critical juncture in its history. Whoever wins the leadership contest will either make or break the party

Not a task for the faint hearted to be taking on the top job of a party that once dominated Scottish politics which is currently in third place, but the reality is that the party is at a critical juncture in its history and this leadership contest will be a defining moment in the party’s existence and the future direction it goes in with only two outcomes; either the party reaffirms its pro- union position or adopts a position that would favour a second referendum on Scottish independence, which would make a second referendum in Scotland inevitable.

Since 2014 the constitutional question of Scottish Independence has been at the forefront of Scotland’s political narrative which looks to be at the forefront of the forthcoming Scottish Labour Party leadership contest with two distinct candidates offering two clear options – a leader who will support the status quo and re-affirm the party’s pro union position which would be in line with the current UK leader of the Labour Party, Keir Starmer or a leader who has publicly backed a second referendum but caveats that with her opposition to independence. Confused, you’re not the only one, and here lies the core of the problem for the Scottish Labour Party.

When it comes to constitutional matters the Labour Party never does well. Over the last few years there has been a lot of talk about Federalism, Devo -Max or as some call it home rule, but this plays into the current narrative that doesn’t serve the Labour Party or its members well and ultimately the people of Scotland which has overshadowed the failures of a populist government that talks a good game but delivers very little for the people of Scotland.

The question that every member of the Scottish Labour Party will be asking itself is after fourteen years of being in opposition what will it take to reverse the party’s electoral fortunes? Is it simply a case of reversing the parties position on the constitution and all of a sudden the Scottish Labour Party is back in the game ? Some may argue that is exactly the direction the Scottish Labour Party should be taking, but I fundamentally disagree with that approach.

Firstly, not every member of the Scottish Labour Party will support such a change in policy over the constitution and as such there will be an inevitable split in the membership, and secondly, adopting such a stance is nothing short of “if you can’t beat them, join them” which sends out a clear message to the wider electorate that the Scottish Labour Party will abandon its principles in the pursuit of power and when the going get’s tough, the Scottish Labour Party gets going. This is not the party I know, or love and I suspect that many other members will also be of the same viewpoint.

Surely as a party we can do better than this and I honestly believe we can but abandoning our core principles in the pursuit of power and playing into the false narrative that independence is the best way to take Scotland forward, is nothing more than peddling a false sense of optimism that does nothing to promote the interests of the people and communities we seek to serve in Scotland.

The Scottish Labour Party needs to be talking about a roadmap to recovery and a roadmap to prosperity for the people of Scotland and not a roadmap to another referendum which if the Scottish Labour Party changes its position on Scottish independence will result in.

I still believe that the Scottish Labour Party is the only vehicle for real progressive change in Scotland and the SNP know it. Look at their track record of being in office, they promised they would “scrap the unfair council tax”, but didn’t, they said they would introduce a new top rate of tax but didn’t, they said they would replace student loans with means tested grants and didn’t.

All in all, this is a party that talks left and acts right but whoever becomes the next leader of the Scottish Labour Party needs to tackle this head on and talk about the big issues that matter to people and not enter into a hypothetical debate about the future of the constitution that in no way addresses people’s concerns, but instead puts forward a strong clear vision for how the Scottish Labour Party will transform Scotland for the better.

The reality is that after fourteen years of SNP control, the people of Scotland deserves better and the people of Scotland need better, and it will fall down to whoever wins the Scottish Labour Party leadership to ensure that the Scottish Labour Party leads on that debate.

Barrie Cunning is the former Scottish Labour candidate for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire and is the managing director of Pentland Communications.