Johann Lamont
Johann Lamont
Johann MacDougall Lamontis a Scottish politician, who was leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She served as a junior minister in the Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition Scottish Executive from 2004 until the coalition's defeat by the Scottish National Partyin 2007. She was subsequently elected deputy leader of the opposition Labour group of MSPs in 2008, and was elected to lead the Labour Party in December 2011. She announced her resignation in October 2014, and following a leadership...
NationalityScottish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth11 July 1957
I guess it feels to me that the political argument that has been lost in my lifetime is taxation. How do you engage in that debate when people don't trust politicians at all? It is almost impossible to start a conversation about taxation.
I'd always step up to the mark to serve the people of the country.
Our task is a great one, not just because of how far we have fallen. Our task is a great one because of the challenges facing the people we seek to serve.
With the emergence of the Internet, it has become possible for creative and bold people with focus and determination to establish businesses in some of our remotest communities. But these will not work if they do not have reliable transport routes responding to the impatient modern customer.
We must listen and learn, show humility and seek again to talk for and to people's ambitions and concerns.
The job of the Scottish Labour Party is to represent working people and represent Scotland.
The big issues, the things that scar Scotland - the least of them is whether we should have a border at Gretna Green or not.
I made a different decision to send my children to the local state school.
I want to change Scotland, but the only way we can change Scotland is by changing the Scottish Labour Party.
Social injustice is what puts Scotland at its greatest disadvantage, and restoring the 50p tax rate will start to fight that.
That's a really healthy thing - family will always protect you from yourself.
The Labour Party in 2011 was in an exceptionally bad place. We'd been hammered in an election. We didn't see the scale of it coming.
The instinct of the Labour Party is if there's a problem, change the leader, then sit back, fold your arms and wait to be disappointed because they're sure it's not going to deliver.
I spent ridiculous amounts of time as an activist and volunteer and was a teacher for 20 years.