Scottish Labour's election 'disaster' due to unpopular PM - Lennon

Scottish Labour's Holyrood election result was a "disaster...made in Downing Street", according to one of the party's former MSPs.

Monica Lennon, who lost her seat in May's election, said voters could not get beyond the prime minister's unpopularity, and therefore "Scottish Labour couldn't get a hearing."

Asked on The Sunday Show if the party needed better answers on the constitution, Lennon said: "Labour needs better answers on everything, frankly".

She said Andy Burnham was "not the Messiah" but could take the Labour Party into a "new era".

In May, Scottish Labour recorded their worst ever result at a Holyrood election.

Labour lost four seats, returning just 17 of the 129 seats available.

Lennon added that she expected that there would be a decentralisation of power in Scotland if he took over as prime minister.

"I think the Scottish election disaster for Scottish Labour was made in Downing Street," she told the programme.

"But Andy Burnham is not a Messiah. We're not waiting for a leader to come and change Scottish Labour's fortunes.

"But looking back I think it clearly was going to be difficult for Scottish Labour to make progress."

She said Sir Keir Starmer "was the issue" and that it became clear during campaigning for the Scottish election that "people felt really disappointed".

Lennon added that those who had switched parties to vote for Labour in 2024 "expected better from Labour".

"I think there was a frustration that the pace of change was too slow," she said.

She said Sir Keir's judgement was also a factor, citing the scandals surrounding Peter Mandelson.

"He had just run out of road," she said. "Scottish Labour couldn't get a hearing."

Lennon added: "Anyone who's been involved with Scottish Labour's campaign knows that the issue on the door was Keir Starmer, the UK government and their performance.

"Even if people liked the policies, they couldn't get past what was happening in Downing Street.

"For a lot of our candidates, that was deeply frustrating."

Lennon said Scottish Labour would be assessing its future over the summer and it was right that Anas Sarwar oversaw that process.

She said this was an opportunity for those in the party to "get their frustration out".

Lennon added that the Scottish Party needed to have "more control over our destiny", and outlined that breaking away from the UK party should not be ruled out.