Labour by-election candidate says Scottish party has 'differences of opinion' with Keir Starmer
Michael Shanks said there are disagreements around gender reform and the two-child benefit cap
The Scottish Labour candidate in a crucial by-election has said there are “differences of opinion” between the party in Scotland and its UK leader, Sir Keir Starmer.
Michael Shanks, who is standing in Rutherglen and Hamilton West, said there are disagreements around gender reform and the two-child benefit cap. He said he would vote to abolish the latter, but Sir Keir has said it will not be scrapped if his party wins power.
However, Mr Shanks said this demonstrated the “maturity of devolution”. The SNP has accused Labour of being “mired in contradiction”.
The by-election was triggered after 11,896 voters in the constituency signed a recall petition to oust the former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier, who was suspended from the House of Commons for breaking Covid rules. She travelled by train at the height of pandemic in September 2020, having tested positive for the virus.
It will be fiercely contested by both the SNP and Labour. Mr Shanks urged the former to ensure the by-election is held as soon as possible, on October 5. Parliamentary rules dictate that the party which most recently held a seat must move a writ that would vacate it, should an MP be felled by a recall petition.
Speaking as he launched the SNP's campaign, First Minister Humza Yousaf said: “We’ll do everything in our gift to get this by-election as early as possible.”
He said Mr Shanks is “right to be deeply uncomfortable at Keir Starmer’s position on the two-child limit and on backing cruel Tory policies, because that will ultimately be what this by-election comes down to”. He added: “The voters of Rutherglen and Hamilton West have a really stark choice. They can either vote for an excellent SNP MP who will stand up for them and stand up for Scotland, or they can have a Labour MP who will do Keir Starmer’s bidding and back cruel Tory policies which have seen tens of thousands of children – many of them in this very constituency – plunged into poverty.”
He said Mr Shanks “will do whatever, I’m certain, Keir Starmer tells him to do”.
Mr Yousaf said the SNP welcomes the by-election. Asked if he had any sympathy for Ms Ferrier, who had the party whip removed when her Covid rule-breaking came to light, he said she was responsible for her own actions, adding: “I think we can all agree they were incredibly reckless.”
Katy Loudon, the SNP candidate and a local South Lanarkshire councillor, said she had not spoken to Ms Ferrier since 2020.
Mr Shanks was repeatedly asked about the disagreements between Scottish Labour and the UK party as he launched his own campaign in Rutherglen, which took place a short walk away from the SNP’s event.
Sir Keir recently said a UK Labour Government would retain the two-child limit on claiming some benefits.
