Michael Marra enters Scottish Labour leadership contest

Michael Marra has confirmed he will stand in the Scottish Labour leadership contest, pledging to unite and renew the party after May’s devastating election defeat.

The North East MSP is the second politician to enter the race to succeed Anas Sarwar, after Monica Lennon announced she was running at the weekend.

Sarwar quit as Scottish Labour leader earlier in the week to take up a seat in the House of Lords and become a trade minister in Andy Burnham’s Government.

It comes Scottish Labour faced its worst result in the history of devolution in May.

Marra said: “The promise of our Scottish Labour Party is that we build a better, more equal nation, and we leave it as a legacy for our children.

“That is a moral purpose. But too often it can become clouded in the day to day of our politics.

“In this moment of renewal for our party, we must restate that purpose. But we also have to listen. We have to learn. And we have to change.

“This is not a question of reacting to one bad defeat. Scottish Labour has gone backwards six Holyrood elections in a row.

“That better, more equal Scotland is my driving ambition. It’s what gets me up in the morning. It’s what motivates me to stand up for the people I grew up with here in Dundee.

“It’s what drives me as I campaign for change across Scotland.

“It’s why I’m standing to be the leader of the Scottish Labour Party.

“In reality, leadership isn’t a job for one person. It’s for all of us. So I’m offering the skills, the experience, and the character to lead us on that road to recovery.”

Because Sarwar was a list MSP for the Glasgow region, his seat will be offered to Lennon, the next person on the party’s list.

Lennon, an MSP for ten years until she lost her seat at the May election, had strongly hinted that she would run.