FORMER Labour MPs and general-election candidates told the Morning Star today that they were given a criminal lack of resources to fight for winnable seats in Scotland by the national party.

With the publication of a leaked internal report on Sunday, it was revealed that some former Labour Party staff actively worked against the interests of left-wing candidates in the 2017 and 2019 election campaigns. 

A number of those who stood have said that they were clearly left short of resources by the party, instead relying on trade-union support in their bid to become MPs. 

One former MP, who won in 2017 before losing in December 2019, told the Star that the importance of Scottish seats in the path to a socialist government was underestimated. 

They said: “I think that the Scottish party did struggle with resources for candidates, there’s no secret in that. Most of us felt we had no resources and no help, on reflection. 

“We said it was all done on a shoestring, and it was hard work at the end of the day. They thought that the UK party tied their hands.”

Angela Feeney was another of those who felt short-changed, eventually losing out to the SNP in Motherwell & Wishaw by just 318 votes in 2017.

She claimed that her constituency party also acted against her attempts to get to Westminster, limiting access to funds alongside UK party staff. 

The North Lanarkshire councillor told the Star: “The Scottish party were supportive, they did their best.

“But there’s no point in getting working-class women in these positions and then leaving them with very little support.

“I ran my campaign from my kitchen from a shopping trolley.”

High-profile members of Scottish Labour have now called for an internal inquiry north of the border to establish the extent to which candidates were undermined. 

Neil Findlay MSP was one of the first to speak out, calling for the party’s general secretary in Scotland to launch an investigation, saying that there had been “clear” actions to undermine the campaign and candidates by the party HQ in London.

The calls were backed by the Campaign for Socialism, which described the report’s findings as “distressing” and said it was clear that paid officers had worked against the party’s best interests.