57 Facts About Richard Leonard

Richard Leonard was born on January 1962 and is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021.

Richard Leonard has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament, as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland region, since 2016.

Richard Leonard ideologically identifies as a socialist, democrat and internationalist.

Richard Leonard moved to Scotland in the 1980s to study Politics and Economics at the University of Stirling.

Richard Leonard defeated Anas Sarwar to win the 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election, succeeding Kezia Dugdale, and he later took on the role of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work.

Richard Leonard faced a motion of no confidence in his leadership put forward by members of the political right of the party but the motion failed to gain enough support.

Richard Leonard remained as leader until standing down in January 2021 prior to the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Richard Leonard was born in January 1962 in Westow, East Riding of Yorkshire and raised in the market town of Malton, North Yorkshire.

Richard Leonard is the son of Derek, a tailor and member of the Tailor and Garment Workers Union, and Janet, who looked after him and his two sisters.

Richard Leonard was inspired politically in his youth by Arguments for Socialism written by Tony Benn, a leftist Labour Member of Parliament and former cabinet minister.

Richard Leonard was further influenced by Farewell to the Working Class and Critique of Economic Reason by Austrian philosopher Andre Gorz, as well as the works of early socialist novelist William Morris.

Richard Leonard studied Politics and Economics at the University of Stirling, where he was a member of the Labour club and president of the Students' Association.

Richard Leonard was a contemporary of future First Minister of Scotland Jack McConnell and they shared a flat together for a time following graduation.

Richard Leonard then spent a further five years as head of economics and assistant secretary for the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

Richard Leonard then worked for 20 years as a GMB Scotland industrial organiser, a role in which he represented women, apprentices and young people on low pay.

Richard Leonard served as Chair of the Scottish Labour Party from 2002 to 2003 but opposed the 2003 invasion of Iraq, marching against the war and describing the bombing of Baghdad as "awful".

Richard Leonard stood as the Labour candidate for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election but lost to the Scottish National Party's Adam Ingram.

The SNP's Alex Neil held the seat but Richard Leonard was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament as one of seven additional members for the Central Scotland region.

Richard Leonard supported Jeremy Corbyn in the 2016 UK Labour Party leadership election.

Richard Leonard received celebrity endorsement from cult comic book scribe Mark Millar, known for Kick-Ass and Kingsman, who said he was "the most exciting thing to happen up here in decades".

Richard Leonard said he would discuss with Labour MSPs whether she would be suspended for failing to notify the party.

Richard Leonard donated the earnings from her MSP's salary while absent, as well as part of the money earned from the show, to charity.

Richard Leonard said he disagreed with her position on same-sex marriage but felt her criticisms of wealth disparity justified her appointment.

Richard Leonard somewhat distanced himself from Jeremy Corbyn in 2017, saying "I'm too long in the tooth to be a Corbynista".

Richard Leonard attended protests in Glasgow and outside the Scottish Parliament opposing the visit because of Trump's attitudes and actions towards women, ethnic minorities and the poor.

Trump returned to Scotland while on a June 2019 royal visit and Richard Leonard spoke at a protest rally outside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Richard Leonard carried out a frontbench reshuffle in October 2018, following a series of negative briefings by MSPs close to Kezia Dugdale.

Richard Leonard took on the role of Shadow Economy Secretary, dismissing Jackie Baillie.

Critics of Richard Leonard briefed the reshuffle was a purge of moderate MSPs.

Richard Leonard said the reshuffle was necessary to refresh his frontbench and ensure unity among its members.

Former government minister Hugh Henry defended Richard Leonard, arguing Baillie and Sarwar had both been disloyal.

Richard Leonard moved Alex Rowley to cover Brexit and constitutional relations and moved Shadow Finance Secretary James Kelly to cover justice.

Richard Leonard brought on North Ayrshire Council leader Joe Cullinane as head of campaigns and party engagement.

Richard Leonard said the additions would strengthen his core team but admitted Scottish Labour would still "need to make a strong case" to win back voters.

In public support of Sarwar, Richard Leonard said, "We have doubled the size of the National Constitutional Committee which hears these cases but, as this case shows, clearly more still needs to be done".

Richard Leonard led Scottish Labour into the 2019 European Parliament election with the party inheriting, from 2014, two of the six seats in Scotland.

Only Jeremy Corbyn's face was placed on the cover of the Scottish Labour campaign leaflet, which Richard Leonard later admitted was a mistake and a missed opportunity to promote himself as more than Corbyn's "man in Scotland".

Richard Leonard brought on North Ayrshire Council leader Joe Cullinane as head of campaigns and party engagement.

Richard Leonard said the additions would strengthen his core team but admitted Scottish Labour would still "need to make a strong case" to win back voters.

Richard Leonard apologised for the UK party failing to address concerns over Brexit and for the Scottish party not having stopped what he described as the "SNP juggernaut".

Richard Leonard accused his critics of never supporting his leadership and mounting "an internal war".

Richard Leonard suggested MSPs could face deselection for showing disloyalty, said attempts to oust him as leader were an "act of sabotage" and confirmed he would fight any challenger for the leadership.

Richard Leonard later replaced Kelly as Shadow Justice Secretary with Rhoda Grant.

On 14 January 2021, Richard Leonard resigned as Scottish Labour leader with immediate effect.

Richard Leonard stood as the Scottish Labour candidate in Airdrie and Shotts at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, finishing second behind Neil Gray.

Richard Leonard was again returned on the Central Scotland regional list.

Richard Leonard has been described by journalists as being left-wing, on the hard left and hostile to business.

Richard Leonard's politics have been described by allies as radical, conviction-led and based around representing and helping people.

Richard Leonard is a long-standing member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which opposes the replacement of Trident with a new nuclear weapons system.

Richard Leonard has said he wants to fundamentally change the Scottish economy and has advocated a shift to a more planned, long-term approach to economic management.

Richard Leonard is described in Tom Bower's biography Dangerous Hero as "a Marxist".

When questioned over this assertion in an interview with Novara Media's Ash Sarkar, Richard Leonard said, despite having read Marx, he would not describe his politics as Marxist but rather a synthesis of "Scottish radicalism" and those of "post-industrial Utopians".

Richard Leonard has stated leaving the United Kingdom would create larger problems for Scotland than the UK leaving the European Union.

Richard Leonard has said he would support Scotland's red meat industry by investing more in abattoirs and rural supply chains, and would aim for full employment in the Highlands and Islands.

Richard Leonard has discussed seeing working time as a unit of currency and aiming for a managed reduction in the length of work weeks.

Richard Leonard has stated Scottish Labour has "unfinished business" with land reform and should replace council tax with a property and land tax to force tax burden onto those with more wealth and more land.

Richard Leonard advocates nationalising Scottish railways, removing Scotrail from private ownership by Abellio, and bus services, with the wider aim of making bus travel free for all.