Michael Marra named new leader of Scottish Labour

Michael Marra has been elected the new leader of Scottish Labour, calling it the "honour of my life".

The North East Scotland MSP, who has been the party's finance spokesperson, defeated South Scotland MSP Joe Fagan in a contest voted on by thousands of members.

Mr Marra replaces Anas Sarwar, who stood down from the top job after the party suffered its worst result in the history of devolution in May's Scottish parliament elections.

It returned just 17 MSPs as it lost its fifth consecutive contest in Holyrood.

Mr Sarwar in July quit his role - which he called the "hardest job in British politics" - and joined the House of Lords, becoming a trade minister in Andy Burnham's government in Westminster.

In the leadership race, Mr Marra defeated his rival Mr Fagan by 4,266 votes to 2,485.

Reacting to his victory, Mr Marra said: "To be entrusted with the leadership of our Scottish Labour party is a singular honour and a great responsibility."

Mr Marra said he wants Scottish Labour "to become a genuinely national party again, rooted in every part of Scotland, open to everyone and capable of bringing communities together".

He said he has three priorities over the next year - to "open up the party and reconnect it with Scotland", to "recover Labour's purpose and start building a programme for the future" and to "deliver change now".

The prime minister congratulated him on his win and said Mr Marra would "give it everything you've got", adding: "Looking forward to working closely together to bring back hope in Scotland."

Mr Marra said that in his first 100 days in the new job, he plans to take Scottish Labour "out of the bubble of parliament and back into the country".

"We will work with people in their communities to understand what matters most, what is changing in their lives and what they want for the future. We will bring our values to the table but we will be led by people's priorities," he said.

"I call that politics with the doors open."

He added: "It is the honour of my life to be elected leader of the Scottish Labour Party."

The number of MSPs elected for the party has declined in every Holyrood election since devolution, falling to just 17 after May's vote. The result meant it was the joint second-largest party, tied with Reform UK.

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He said: "We will work with Andy Burnham's UK Labour government, with Scots right at the heart of it... It's only Labour that can get the best deal for Scotland in a changing UK."

Mr Marra has insisted Scottish Labour is still a "significant force" in Scottish politics despite this year's election results.

On the question of Scottish independence, Mr Marra has previously said there is a "route" to a second referendum through "creating a settled will of the Scottish people".

But he said comparing Scotland to Northern Ireland - which has a legal trigger for a referendum - was "dangerous".

Earlier this month, the prime minister said a vote on Scottish independence could be held if there was a "clear consensus" north of the border for it, but a letter later sent to First Minister John Swinney said a referendum remained "off limits".

SNP leader Mr Swinney has pushed for a referendum to be held within the next five years.

This week Mr Swinney met the leaders of Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein during what they described as a "landmark" summit aimed at pressuring Downing Street into holding independence referendums.

Having worked for Dundee University prior to entering politics, Mr Marra was made Scottish Labour's education spokesperson in 2021.

The former Dundee councillor then went on to become his party's finance spokesperson two years later.

He describes himself as being "rooted in Labour", telling party members during the campaign how he went on trade union marches as a child with his sister and his parents.

(c) Sky News 2026: Michael Marra named new leader of Scottish Labour