ALLOA and Grangemouth MP Brian Leishman has been reflecting on his first full year in parliament.
It was a controversial 2025 as he was one of a number of MPs who were suspended by the Labour Party in July for repeatedly rebelling against the government.
The whip was restored in November and Leishman has now been voted Best Scot at Westminster, voted for by the judges at The Herald’s Scottish Politician of the Year Awards in association with Scottish Power.
“What an unbelievable award and privilege it is,” he says, still clearly taken aback. “It was lovely to win, especially when you look at who I was up against.”
Those rivals were Douglas Alexander and Stephen Flynn, two figures with longer parliamentary CVs. Mr Leishman is quick to stress his respect for both.
His rival in many respects, the SNP's Flynn, he says, has been “a huge help” to him during his first year and a bit at Westminster.
Mr Alexander, although he admits he does not know him particularly well, has been “very good” at keeping in touch over the future of Grangemouth. “I’m looking forward to working with him,” Leishman adds.
The judges’ verdict was that he is a “principled and independent voice” who is unafraid to speak up for what he believes in and this neatly captures the reputation he has built in a short time. It is also a reputation that has come at a cost.
Asked whether it has been difficult to be such a rebellious figure within the Labour Party, particularly over welfare reform and the closure of Grangemouth oil refinery, Leishman is matter-of-fact: “It’s not been difficult in the respect that all I want to do is stand up for my constituents and represent them to the best of my ability and also to represent my own personal politics.”
Where it has been difficult, he admits, is on a personal level.
Losing the Labour whip hurt, he says. “I joined the party in 2016, and the only real difficulty has been that over the past 17 months the government, on a whole raft of issues, has made the wrong call,” he says.
“A lot of the time it hasn’t been representative of what I consider to be true Labour Party values. I found that very difficult as a Labour Party member.”
Those “true Labour values”, he believes, may finally be re-emerging. The most recent UK Budget, he argues, marked a turning point.
“I think the budget had a lot of solid Labour principles in it,” he says, crediting the “parliamentary left” of the party for forcing change.
“To get the two-child benefit cap scrapped, that was largely down to representations made in questions, debates, letters and leadership pressure. It was about getting the government to adopt proper Labour Party values.”
He points, too, to the fight over welfare cuts earlier in the summer: “Initially, the government was miles off Labour values, trying to cut £7 billion from the most disabled and vulnerable people.”
Crediting more socialist-inclined colleagues, he stresses: “The left of the parliamentary party is still an effective fighting force.
"When you look at the left wing of the Labour Party, we’ve got power, we’ve got influence and, crucially, we are offering different solutions such as annual wealth tax and equalisation of annual gains tax to then redistribute power and wealth across society.
“If you are willing to offer alternative solutions to leadership, I think you can alter their position. We saw it on welfare. I was relentless on Grangemouth and kept that on the very front of the national and political agenda."
Grangemouth is the issue that has defined Leishman’s first term. He is blunt in his assessment: “Both governments have been at fault.”
The real question now, he says, is what comes next. “That’s where we’ve all got to come together and ensure the future is as good as possible.”
He believes persistence has paid off. Leishman reels off the figures: £14.5 million in the budget, an extra £10m for the Falkirk and Grangemouth deal, rising to £100m, and then the Prime Minister’s announcement of £200m for the National Wealth Fund.
“I’m not going to say that was on me,” he insists, “but it was about raising it in parliament, speaking at rallies, speaking in the media, asking questions and contributing in debates.”
He is particularly proud of the grassroots campaign. “The Keep Grangemouth Working campaign was an absolutely phenomenal effort. It showed the very best of the working class in Scotland.”
For all his criticism of Labour’s leadership, Leishman remains adamant that the party is his political home.
“I still believe Labour is the most likely vehicle for social change in this country,” he says. “There has to be room for a wide variety of views, but including more left-wing, socialist voices. That’s absolutely imperative.”
That belief underpins his call for policies such as a generational wealth tax, even though it was absent from the budget. He takes some encouragement from the introduction of a mansion tax.
“That shows the Labour left are chipping away and getting wealth taxes on the political agenda,” he says. “There are many battles we still want to win, but we are here to do it.”
His message to disillusioned members is clear. “It’s so important that left-wing members stay in the Labour Party and that we get more left-wing MPs, MSPs and councillors elected. If you’re willing to offer alternative solutions, you can alter the leadership’s position.”
Despite speculation, Leishman says he has never been convinced to join rival parties on the left.
“I’ve never been tempted by Your Party, the Greens, the SNP or any of them. My home is the Labour Party, and that’s where I want to be.”
He describes himself as a “proud” Labour member who “loves” the party, even when it frustrates him.
He is equally candid about his admiration for Jeremy Corbyn. “He’s been a very big help to me,” Leishman says.
“I find it incredibly sad that Jeremy Corbyn is no longer in the Labour Party. People like him embody the very best values of the labour and trade union movement; anti-austerity, pro-worker, fiercely anti-racist.”
Asked whether figures like Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney are pulling Labour to the right, Leishman is cautious but clear: “I’ve never met him, but it’s fair to say from media reports he seems to exert a lot of influence on leadership.”
What has surprised him most at Westminster?
“Very few MPs want to talk about the defining political issue of all time: class,” he says. For communities like Alloa and Grangemouth, deindustrialisation has had lasting social consequences. “Austerity ripped communities to shreds, and the pandemic saw wealth inequality accelerate at an extraordinary rate.”
That anger, he fears, is being exploited. “People are so hacked off they’re looking for someone to blame, and that’s where Nigel Farage and Reform UK come in.”
He does not mince his words: a Reform government would be “Thatcherism on steroids”. “That prospect terrifies me,” he admits. “It keeps me awake at night.”
Turning to Holyrood, Leishman believes Scottish Labour has a genuine opportunity in 2026. The budget, he says, gives Anas Sarwar “an excellent platform” to reach Bute House.
“It’s a straight choice: more John Swinney, or Anas Sarwar.”
While he expresses respect for Swinney, particularly for his engagement over Grangemouth, Leishman argues that nearly 20 years of SNP government is enough. “The country needs a change and a fresh pair of hands.”
Sarwar’s biggest challenge, he concedes, will be persuading voters after UK-level “missteps”.
Still, he is confident. “Raising the national minimum wage - that’s the sort of thing only a Labour government does. I believe Anas Sarwar is Scotland’s best bet for First Minister.”
As the conversation ends, we return to the role he sees for himself.
“That’s the job of a backbench MP; to act as the compass for your leadership,” he says.
Will he keep rebelling? He smiles. “At 43 years old, I am who I am. I’m not going to change.”
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