Kezia Dugdale has insisted she will stay on as Scottish Labour leader, even if she steers her party to third place in next week’s Holyrood election.
The former Harris Academy pupil has found herself under fire with polls making for grim reading for party supporters and anonymous politicians briefing against her in Sunday newspapers.
Some sources said they expect former deputy leader Anas Sarwar to launch a leadership challenge in once he becomes an MSP, while there has also been speculation that Neil Findlay, an ally of UK leader Jeremy Corbyn, could make a play for the job.
But, during a TV interview, Ms Dugdale insisted: “Even if that were to happen (Labour finishing behind the Conservatives), I would absolutely continue in post.
“I have always said I have a long term plan to turn around the fortunes of the Scottish Labour Party.”
The Sunday Times reported one Labour politician diagnosing the party’s problems: “It’s Corbyn. It’s Kezia. It’s our tax policy. It’s our left-wing socialist platform and it’s the s*** campaign we’re running.”
SNP business convener Derek Mackay said: “Labour’s campaign so far has been characterised by a series of splits, gaffes and policy disasters – so it’s perhaps no wonder that it seems that senior Labour figures now have the knives out for their party’s leader.”
Meanwhile, Ms Dugdale will today unveil plans to extend The Minor Ailment Service (MAS) to everyone.
Currently, 900,000 people are registered for this service, with around half of the Scottish population unable to access the service because of eligibility criteria.
MAS allows eligible individuals to register with, and use, a community pharmacy as the first port of call for the treatment of a common illness or condition on the NHS.
These include conditions such as acne and ear ache.
Registered patients can present at any point with symptoms and the pharmacist will treat, advise or refer them to another health care practitioner where appropriate.