- Published
Michael Marra has been announced as the next Scottish Labour leader.
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Marra → publish → leader
He received 4266 votes from Labour members, compared with Joe Fagan's 2485.
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He → receive → 2485
Almost half of party members turned out to vote in the leadership contest.
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half → turn → contest
Marra takes over as leader following Anas Sarwar's decision to stand down in order to take up a seat in the House of Lords.
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Marra → take → Lords
Speaking after the votes were read out, Marra said: "It is the honour of my life to be elected leader of the Scottish Labour Party.
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It → speak → Party
"To be entrusted with the leadership of our Scottish Labour Party is a singular honour and a great responsibility.
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entrusted → entrust → Party
I am grateful for your trust and take on the duty of advancing our cause of a fairer, more equal Scotland with all that I can possibly give."
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I → take → that
He went on to thank his opponents, Joe Fagan and Monica Lennon, and praised them for their ideas about how the party needed to change.
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party → go → ideas
He said: "Joe argued for a politics rooted in people and place, for less control in the centre and more control for local communities.
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Joe → say → communities
Monica was right to say we need to reconnect with the trade union movement that birthed the Labour party.
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that → say → party
"Her record delivering change through parliament is also a template for how Labour should behave in opposition – robust in our criticism of the SNP, yes, but also making our own change."
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Labour → deliver → change
Marra continued: "Scots know what we are against.
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we → continue → what
They can't tell you what we are for...
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we → tell → what
An economy where everyone has a fair chance in life, which redistributes power, wealth and opportunity."
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which → have → power
Marra inherits a party that had a historically bad result in May's Scottish Parliament election.
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that → inherit → election
They will lead a group of just 17 MSPs.
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They → lead → MSPs
That makes them the joint second-largest party at Holyrood, tied with Reform UK, but there remains a gulf
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them → make → UK
Anas Sarwar fell well short of his goal to become first minister of Scotland, and swapped Holyrood for the House of Lords shortly afterwards.
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Sarwar → fall → Lords
He announced he would be standing down from the Scottish Parliament, and had accepted a peerage (despite previously calling for the House of Lords to be abolished) so he could become a minister in Andy Burnham's government.
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he → announce → government
What are the challenges facing the new leader?
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challenges → face → leader
We asked the pollster Mark Diffley to spell out some of the issues that Marra will have to tackle.
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Marra → ask → that
He didn't mince his words: "The party has become a bit of an irrelevance, and I think that is the biggest hurdle that they face going forward."
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they → mince → that
Diffley said the majority of people didn't know the leadership candidates or even that there was a contest going on.
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majority → say → candidates
So what does the pollster think Marra needs to do?
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Marra → think → ?
Diffley spells out three priorities: become relevant, develop a relationship with the prime minister (who he says is currently popular in Scotland) and spell out appealing policies.
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he → spell → policies
One senior party insider agreed with much of Diffley's analysis, warning "it's not an easy inbox".
They told me there's a need to change approach, and Labour might look to learn from a rival party – the Scottish Greens.
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Labour → agree → party
The Green strategy has been to get their policies taken on by the SNP.
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policies → get → SNP
You'll often hear the Greens talk about Scottish government decisions and essentially say: 'that was our idea'.
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that → hear → decisions
And Labour, this insider argues, should be taking the same approach.
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insider → argue → approach
At future elections, Labour could then have tangible "wins" to point at.
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Labour → have → wins
It would be a change in approach from a party that tended to oppose or abstain on budgets in the last parliament.
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that → tend → parliament
It's a view shared by another party figure, who called for a constant "SNP bad" approach to be ditched, saying "the electorate rejected that wholesale".
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electorate → share → that
They added that Scottish Labour had to be "far more considerate about where we pick our battles", and said that they should approach SNP policies, like cutting the number of health boards, constructively.
And that's not the only pressing issue the new leader may have to address.
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leader → add → boards
While many think Andy Burnham has had a good start as prime minister, there is concern within Scottish Labour about some aspects of Number 10's approach north of the border.
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Burnham → think → border
Some told me they believe the prime minister should have made more visits to Scotland.
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minister → tell → Scotland
And another said Downing Street had been "a bit all over the shop" when it came to a second independence referendum.
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it → say → referendum
The referendum question
And that brings us to an age-old area that could prove tricky for Marra: the constitution.
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that → bring → Marra
Andy Burnham seemed to set hares running last week in the Commons when he suggested there was a scenario where a second Scottish independence referendum could be on the table.
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referendum → seem → table
His spokesperson quickly rowed back on the comments, but SNP figures couldn't believe their luck when the door seemed to be opened (even just slightly) to a second vote.
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door → row → vote
It's an issue that the new leader of Scottish Labour will have to engage with.
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leader → have → Labour
…and 10 more, not listed.
The Aporia
