Michael Marra was elected leader of the Scottish Labour party after winning 4,266 votes in the leadership election, almost two-thirds of the 6,751 votes cast. The MSP for North East Scotland replaces Anas Sarwar and becomes Scottish Labour’s 11th leader.
Marra’s 4,266 votes
Marra told members in his acceptance speech that he would spend time reconnecting with Scottish voters. He said: “Scots know what we are against. They can’t tell you what we are for.”
He added: “We must be clear in our values. We must lead with our values,” before saying: “For a decade now Scotland has gotten weaker. We must reconnect with the country if we are ever to form a government in Holyrood to face these historic challenges.”
Anas Sarwar’s July resignation
Marra takes over after Sarwar resigned in July to join Andy Burnham’s new government as a trade minister. That left Scottish Labour to choose a new leader while the party was still dealing with the result of In May, when it won 17 seats as the SNP retained power.
The vote drew 6,751 ballots, equal to 49.43% of the Scottish Labour party membership. Joe Fagan won 2,485 votes.
Holyrood after In May
Scottish Labour has lost seats at every Holyrood election since devolution in 1999. Its May result was its worst ever, even though Labour has 37 MPs from Scotland in Westminster. In Holyrood, Labour has as many seats as Reform, two more than the Scottish Green party, and five more than the Conservatives.
That leaves Marra with a clear immediate task: turn a leadership win into a recovery in Scotland, where the party’s support has not yet matched its Westminster strength. He has already set out the direction he wants to take, and the next test is whether that message can reach voters beyond the membership that elected him.
