The big call Andy Burnham could make to transform Scottish politics
Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says Scottish Labour cannot ignore the structural problem that may stop from winning at Holyrood again. 08:31, 17 Jul 2026Andy Burnham will become Prime Minister on. . .
Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says Scottish Labour cannot ignore the structural problem that may stop from winning at Holyrood again. 08:31, 17 Jul 2026Andy Burnham will become Prime Minister on Monday and his in-tray already looks like anightmare. The economy is in the doldrums, inflation is up and oil prices aregoing through the roof. He will also have to navigate a difficult opening call with President Trump while running a rookieGovernment. Scottish Labour will not be foremost in his thoughts, but at some point he will have a big call to make. Politics, like football, is a results business and the Scottish party has not been near the top of the Holyrood league for two decades. Their latest Holyrood defeat was their fifth in a row to the SNP and the party looks aimless. At some point, pro-devolution Burnham will have to decide if Scottish Labour going it alone is the correct course of action. Polling commissioned by the Just for Scotland pressure group, led by former Holyrood candidate Jack McConnel, makes for fascinating reading. The data shows voters split on whether Scottish Labour becoming separate from UK Labour would make them more or less likely to vote for them. It shows 25% said “more likely”, 24% “less likely” and 51% opting for “don’t know”. Broken down by voting behaviour at this year’s Holyrood election, the smaller sub-samples showed 43% of SNP backers said “more likely", 18% said “less likely” while 39% were don’t knows. Among the Greens, it was 44%, 11% and 45%, respectively. Respondents were also asked if they would potentially consider voting for a new “Scotland-only party”. This was described as “progressive” and which “championed Scotland's devolution” and was in favour of “closer alignment with Europe”. In terms of Holyrood voters, 74% of SNP backers said they would potentially consider it, as would 72% of Scottish Green voters. Party insiders say Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar is in favour of a split of some sort and he and Burnham are pally. Sarwar may be hanging on as leader in order to complete this unfinished business. Resistance to a separate party will come from old-timers who have an emotional link to the UK structure. Scottish Labour MPs will also be unenthusiastic as they fear it could blur lines of accountability. Burnham has said devolving more powers to the nations and regions will be one of his top priorities as Prime Minister. He has a big call to make on whether to green light an effective breakaway of his Scottish party. Choose Daily Record as a 'Preferred Source' on Google News for quick access to the news you value.