New Scottish Labour Leader to Rewrite Party's Constitution

Scottish Labour's new leader Jim Murphy has announced plans to rewrite the party's constitution to state that decisions about Scotland will be made in Scotland. Mr Murphy said he will ask members to agree to a new clause four'' at the party's conference in March. In his first major speech after being elected as leader, he said the move would represent therefounding and the rebirth of our Scottish Labour Party''. The MP for East Renfrewshire said he had not consulted Westminster colleagues about his plans, adding that he would no longer seek permission or agreement on decisions concerning Scottish Labour. His predecessor Johann Lamont resigned, saying Labour's leadership south of the border treated the party in Scotland as a branch office''. A draft constitution will be published for discussion in the new year, Mr Murphy told supporters.

Speaking at the event in Glasgow, he said: We will set the political agenda and strategy for Scottish Labour, in Scotland, for Scotland.Decisions on staffing will be made here and the people of Scotland will no longer tolerate the old factions and infighting. But the change that we need goes much deeper than the leadership style of a new leadership team.If this is to be a genuinely fresh start for our party, then we need to make more fundamental change than simply the personalities or the people.'' Mr Murphy described his plans as a new statement of purpose for a new generation in the Scottish Labour Party''. Historically, clause four committed Labour to a programme of nationalisation, but it was rewritten before Tony Blair's 1997 election win.This is a clause four moment for a different time and a different purpose from the reforms of the 1990s,'' Mr Murphy said. Tony Blair rewrote clause four of UK Labour to bring us closer to the centre of politics. I want to rewrite 'clause four' of Scottish Labour to bring us closer to the centre of Scottish life.'' He said the new constitution willmake it clear that we are both a democratic socialist party and a patriotic party''. We are a socialist party, yes, but we recognise that our political faith grew out of something deeper which is ingrained in our Scottish character,'' he said.

He continued: We will declare ourselves a party that represents Scotland first and where, as Scots, we work with others to achieve the potential of all.We will set in stone the total devolution of policy-making in devolved areas. Policy in future will be made in Scotland, for Scotland, by our Scottish party, putting the interests of the Scottish people above all else.'' The constitution will also commit to a permanent and powerful'' Scottish Parliament, and the party'shistoric mission for a more equal and fairer society''. What I am announcing today will represent the refounding and the rebirth of our Scottish Labour Party,'' he said.After today it will no longer be a matter of opinion, it will be a statement of unbreakable fact, written into the DNA and the constitution of our party, that decisions about Scotland will be made in Scotland. After the announcements that I have made here today, I will not seek, and I will not need to seek, the permission or the agreement of anyone else anywhere else in the United Kingdom about decisions to be made here in Scotland.Those days are gone and those days are gone for good.''