Labour has “lost its purpose” by obsessing about the SNP for too long, according to Nicola Sturgeon.
As she prepares to take on the official opposition as First Minister, Ms Sturgeon told The Courier she did not take “any great pleasure” in the troubles within the party she has fought for years.
She said: “It’s never pleasant when your party is going through really tough times.
“I think Labour is in deep trouble, though and I think it runs deeper than who leads them.
“I think Labour really lost its sense of what it’s about and who it is and what its purpose is and I think it’s going to be a long time before people, if they ever do, forgive the alliance with the Tories in the No campaign. “That’s my views.”
A new Scottish Labour leader will be elected next month but the soon-to-be SNP boss insisted she did not have a preference of who out of Neil Findlay, Sarah Boyack and Jim Murphy ended up taking her on but did have a dig at MP Murphy.
“I will face up to whoever they elect as leader, although there’s one person who I won’t get to face up to immediately if he’s elected leader because he’s not in the Scottish Parliament,” she said.
“My job is to lead the SNP and the SNP has won two elections not by obsessing about Scottish Labour.
“I think one of Scottish Labour’s big mistakes is how much it obsesses about the SNP.”