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Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically
social democratic Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
and unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is represented by 266 of the 1,227 local councillors across Scotland. The Scottish Labour party has no separate
Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...
at Westminster. Throughout the later decades of the 20th century and into the first years of the 21st, Labour dominated politics in Scotland; winning the largest share of the vote in Scotland at every
UK general election United Kingdom general elections (elections for the House of Commons) have occurred in the United Kingdom since the first in 1802. The members of the 1801–1802 Parliament had been elected to the former Parliament of Great Britain and Parliame ...
from
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
to
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, every
European Parliament election Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's. Until 2019, 751 ...
from
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
to
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
and in the first two elections to the Scottish Parliament in
1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
and
2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...
. After this, Scottish Labour formed a coalition with the
Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...
, forming a majority
Scottish Executive The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in t ...
. Until recently, especially since the
2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...
, the party suffered significant decline; losing ground predominantly to the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
, who advocate Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. Scottish Labour experienced one of their worst defeats ever at the 2015 general election. They were left with a sole seat in the House of Commons, Edinburgh South, and lost 40 of its 41 seats to the SNP. This was the first time the party had not dominated in Scotland since the Conservative Party landslide in
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
. At the
2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth Next Scottish Parliament election, election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It ...
, the party lost 13 of its 37 seats, becoming the third-largest party after being surpassed by the
Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...
. At the 2017 general election, Scottish Labour improved their fortunes and gained six seats from the SNP, bringing its total seat tally to seven and winning a 27% share of the vote. This was the first time since the 1918 general election, 99 years previously, that Labour had finished in third place at any general election in Scotland. Overall, the 2017 general election marked the first time in twenty years that the Labour Party had made net gains in the UK at any election. The success was short-lived, however, and at the 2019 general election, Labour lost all new seats gained two years earlier, and again were left with Edinburgh South as their only Scottish seat in the House of Commons. Ian Murray has served as the MP for the constituency since 2010, and is currently one of Scotland's longest-serving MPs. The 2019 general election was Labour's worst result nationally in 84 years, with their lowest share of the vote recorded in Scotland since the
December 1910 general election The December 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 3 to 19 December. It was the last general election to be held over several days and the last to be held before the First World War. The election took place following the efforts of ...
. The
2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...
saw Labour decline even further, achieving their lowest number of seats in Holyrood since devolution in 1999; with 22 MSPs returned to the Scottish Parliament. Despite this, Anas Sarwar remained as leader. The
2022 Scottish local elections The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local government, Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%. ...
resulted in Labour gaining 20 seats across Scottish local councils, with a slight increase in their share of the vote. In the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
, Scottish Labour won 37 seats, becoming the largest party in Scotland.


Organisation

Scottish Labour is registered with the
UK Electoral Commission In the United Kingdom, the Electoral Commission is the national election commission, created in 2001 as a result of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. It is an independent agency that regulates party and election fina ...
as a description and Accounting Unit (AU) of the
UK Labour Party The Labour Party, often referred to as Labour, is a political party in the United Kingdom that sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. The party has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade ...
and is therefore not a registered political party under the terms of the
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (c. 41) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that sets out how political parties, elections and referendums are to be regulated in the United Kingdom. It formed an important par ...
. It does however have autonomy from the UK Labour Party. As with
Welsh Labour Welsh Labour (), formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales (), is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party (UK), Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a p ...
, Scottish Labour has its own general secretary which is the administrative head of the party, responsible for the day-to-day running of the organisation, and reports to the UK
General Secretary of the Labour Party The General Secretary of the Labour Party is the most senior employee of the British Labour Party, and acts as the non-voting secretary to the National Executive Committee. When there is a vacancy the National Executive Committee selects a pro ...
. The Scottish Labour headquarters is currently at Bath Street, Glasgow. It was formerly co-located with the offices of
Unite the Union Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a trade union in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland, formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus (trade union), Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union. A general union ...
at John Smith House, 145 West Regent Street. The party holds an annual conference during February/March each year.


Scottish Executive Committee

Scottish Labour is administered by the Glasgow-based
Scottish Executive Committee The Organisation of Scottish Labour is a body established under the national rules of the UK Labour Party. Timeline Origins and evolution of Scottish Labour * In August 1888, after contesting the Mid Lanarkshire by-election, Keir Hardie co ...
(SEC), which is responsible to the Labour Party's London-based National Executive Committee (NEC). The Scottish Executive Committee is made up of representatives of party members, elected members and party affiliates, for example, trade unions and socialist societies. Party Officers: *Chair:
Cara Hilton Cara Laura Hilton (born 1975) is a Scottish Labour politician, who was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dunfermline from 2013 to 2016. She has served as a councillor for Dunfermline South since 2022. Political career Hilton was ...
*Vice Chair:
Karen Whitefield Karen Whitefield (born 8 January 1970, Bellshill) is a Scottish Labour politician. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Airdrie and Shotts constituency from 1999 to 2011. Political career Prior to her election as MSP, sh ...
*Treasurer:
Cathy Peattie Catherine "Cathy" Peattie (born 24 November 1951, Grangemouth, Falkirk) is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Falkirk East constituency from the 1999 Scottish Parliament election unt ...


Membership

In 2008, Scottish Labour membership was reported as 17,000, down from a peak of approximately 30,000 in the run-up to the 1997 general election. The figures included in the Annual Report presented to the Scottish Party Conference in 2008, also recorded that more than half of all Constituency Labour Parties (CLPs) had less than 300 members, with 14 having less than 200 members. In September 2010, the party issued 13,135 ballot papers to party members during the Labour Party (UK) leadership election. These did not necessarily equate to 13,135 individual members – due to the party's electoral structure, members can qualify for multiple votes. The party has declined to reveal its membership figures since 2008, and did not publish the number of votes cast in the leadership elections of 2011 or 2014, only percentages. In November 2014 the party's membership was claimed by an unnamed source reported in the ''Sunday Herald'' to be 13,500. Other reports in the media at around this time quoted figures of "as low as 8,000" (the ''Evening Times'') and "less than 10,000" (''New Statesman''). In December 2014 the newly elected leader
Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East R ...
claimed that the figure was "about 20,000" on the TV programme ''
Scotland Tonight ''Scotland Tonight'' is a Scottish news and current affairs programme, covering the two STV franchise areas of Northern and Central Scotland, produced by STV News. The programme is presented by ''STV News at Six'' Central anchor John MacKay on ...
''. In late September 2015, following a membership boost resulting from the 2015 Labour leadership election, a total of 29,899 people were associated with the party; 18,824 members, 7,790 people affiliated through trade unions and other groups, and 3,285 registered supporters. In September 2017, it was reported that the party had 21,500 members and 9,500 affiliated through trade unions and other groups, making a total of 31,000 people associated with the party. In January 2018, the total Scottish membership stood at 25,836, however within 12 months it was leaked in January 2019 that this value had fallen by 4,674 to 21,162. In February 2021, the membership figure was down to 16,467. Leaked figures obtained by the ''Daily Record'' in February 2022 showed that nearly one third of Scottish Labour members were in favour of another Scottish independence referendum. Asked whether "in principle" there should be a referendum on independence, 30% agreed and 57% disagreed.


History


1900–1999: Formation and devolution

From the formation of the Labour Representation Committee in 1900, it had members in Scotland, but unlike in England and Wales, it made no pact with the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...
and so initially struggled to make an impact.Peter Barberis et al., ''Encyclopedia of British and Irish Political Organizations'', pp.397–398 In 1899, the
Scottish Trades Union Congress The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) is the national trade union centre in Scotland. With 40 affiliated unions as of 2020, the STUC represents over 540,000 trade unionists. The STUC is a separate organisation from the English and Welsh ...
organised the
Scottish Workers' Representation Committee Scottish Workers' Representation Committee was the parliamentary outfit of the Scottish Trades Union Congress from 1899 until 1909. It was known as the Scottish Workers Parliamentary Elections Committee until 1903. In contrast to the Labour Repre ...
, which merged into the Labour Party in 1909, greatly increasing its presence in Scotland. By this time, the party's structure in the nation was complex, with constituency parties, and branches of affiliated parties, but no co-ordination at the national level. To provide this, a Scottish Advisory Council was founded in 1915, its first conference chaired by
Keir Hardie James Keir Hardie (15 August 185626 September 1915) was a Scottish trade unionist and politician. He was a founder of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, and was its first Leader of the Labour Party (UK), parliamentary leader from 1906 to 1908. ...
.David Clark and Helen Corr, "Shaw, Benjamin Howard", ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', vol.VIII, pp.226–229 This was later renamed as the Scottish Council of the Labour Party, informally known as the Labour Party in Scotland. In 1994 or 1995, it was renamed as the Scottish Labour Party. Under
Kezia Dugdale Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of th ...
, it was rebranded as Scottish Labour, though its official name remains the Scottish Labour Party. In the early years, the Scottish Council had little power, and its conference could only consider motions on Scottish matters until 1972. However, this allowed it to devote significant time to the question of
Scottish devolution Scottish devolution is the process of the UK Parliament granting powers (excluding powers over reserved matters) to the devolved Scottish Parliament. Prior to the advent of devolution, some had argued for a Scottish Parliament within the United ...
. The Labour Party campaigned for the creation of a devolved
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...
as part of its wider policy of a
devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
United Kingdom. In the late 1980s and 1990s it and its representatives participated in the
Scottish Constitutional Convention The Scottish Constitutional Convention (SCC) was an association of Scottish political parties, churches and other civic groups, that developed a framework for Scottish devolution. History Campaign for a Scottish Assembly The Conventi ...
with the
Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats () is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party holds 5 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, 6 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons and 86 of 1 ...
,
Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...
,
trades union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s and churches, and also campaigned for a "Yes-Yes" vote in the 1997 referendum.


1999–2007: In government

Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...
led Labour's campaign for the
first elections to the Scottish Parliament The first election to the devolved Scottish Parliament, to fill 129 seats, took place on 6 May 1999. Following the election, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats formed the Scottish Executive, with Labour Member of the Scottish Parliam ...
on 6 May 1999. Labour won the most votes and seats, with 56 seats out of 129 (including 53 of the 73 constituency seats), a clear distance ahead of the second-placed
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
(SNP). Labour entered government by forming a coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, with Dewar agreeing to their demand for the abolition of up-front tuition fees for university students as the price for a coalition deal. Dewar became the inaugural
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...
. Dewar died only a year later on 11 October 2000. A new first minister was elected in a ballot by Scottish Labour's MSPs and national executive members, because there was insufficient time to hold a full leadership election. On 21 October,
Henry McLeish Henry Baird McLeish (born 15 June 1948) is a Scottish politician, author, academic and former professional footballer who served as first minister of Scotland from 2000 to 2001. With a term of 1 year, 12 days, he is the shortest serving holder ...
was elected to succeed Dewar, defeating rival
Jack McConnell Jack Wilson McConnell, Baron McConnell of Glenscorrodale, (born 30 June 1960) is a Scottish politician who served as first minister of Scotland and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2001 to 2007. McConnell served as the Minister f ...
. Labour's dominance of Scotland's Westminster seats continued in the 2001 general election, with a small loss of votes but no losses of seats. McLeish resigned later that year amid a scandal involving allegations that he sub-let part of his tax-subsidised Westminster constituency office without it having been registered in the
register of interests A Register of Interests is a record kept, usually by a government body, of financial interests of its members. The register documents interests which may potentially unethically or unlawfully influence members' official duties. The term is in us ...
kept in the Parliamentary office, an affair which the press called ''
Officegate Officegate was a political scandal in Scotland surrounding the unregistered expenses of the then-First Minister of Scotland, Henry McLeish, in 2001. It was the first major scandal the Scottish Parliament had faced since its reincarnation two yea ...
''. Though McLeish could not have personally benefited financially from the oversight, he undertook to repay the £36,000 rental income, and resigned to allow Scottish Labour a clean break to prepare for the
2003 Scottish Parliament election The 2003 Scottish Parliament election was the second election of members to the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Government, Scottish Executive. Jack McConnell, the Sco ...
. After McLeish's resignation, McConnell quickly emerged as the only candidate, and was elected First Minister by the Parliament on 22 November 2001. The coalition between Labour and the Liberal Democrats was narrowly re-elected at the Scottish Parliament election, with Labour losing seven seats and the Liberal Democrats gaining one. The SNP also lost seats, though other pro-independence parties made gains. Labour once again won the majority of seats in Scotland at the 2005 general election. The boundaries in Scotland were redrawn to reduce the number of Westminster constituencies in Scotland from 72 to 59. Labour had a notional loss of 5 seats and an actual loss of 15.


2007–2010: Opposition at Holyrood

At the start of the campaign for the
2007 Scottish Parliament election The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...
, Labour were behind the SNP in most of the
opinion polls An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of que ...
. On 10 April, McConnell unveiled Scottish Labour's election manifesto, which included plans to scrap bills for pensioners and reform Council Tax. The manifesto also proposed a large increase in
public spending Government spending or expenditure includes all government consumption, investment, and transfer payments. In national income accounting, the acquisition by governments of goods and services for current use, to directly satisfy the individual o ...
on education, which would allow for the school leaving age to be increased to 18 and reduce average class sizes to 19 pupils. Labour lost 4 seats and fell narrowly behind the SNP, who won 47 seats to Labour's 46 seats. Labour still won the most constituencies, but the SNP made inroads. Both parties were well short of a majority in the parliament. SNP leader
Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond ( ; 31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024) was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Sc ...
was elected first minister with support from the
Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...
, defeating McConnell 49–46 while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats abstained. Labour did take the most votes in the local elections on the same day but lost seats due to the introduction of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
for local council elections. On 15 August 2007, McConnell announced his intention to resign as Scottish Labour leader.
Wendy Alexander Wendy Cowan Alexander, Baroness Alexander of Cleveden (born 27 June 1963) is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the ...
emerged as the only candidate to succeed him, and was installed as leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament on 14 September 2007. During a TV interview on 4 May 2008,
Wendy Alexander Wendy Cowan Alexander, Baroness Alexander of Cleveden (born 27 June 1963) is a retired Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the ...
performed a major
U-turn A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180° rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the U, letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others, it is treated as ...
on previous Scottish Labour policy by seeming to endorse a referendum on
Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...
, despite previously refusing to support any referendum on the grounds that she did not support independence. During a further TV interview two days later, she reiterated this commitment to a referendum and claimed that she had the full backing of current British prime minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
. The following day, however, Brown denied this was Labour policy and that Alexander had been misrepresented during
Prime Minister's Questions Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs, officially known as Questions to the Prime Minister, while colloquially known as Prime Minister's Question Time) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingd ...
in Westminster. Additionally, Brown's spokesman said: "The prime minister has always been confident of the strength of the argument in favour of the Union and believes a referendum on Scottish independence would be defeated." Despite this lack of backing, Alexander once again reiterated her commitment to a referendum during First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament. On 28 June 2008, Alexander announced her resignation as Leader of Scottish Labour as a result of the pressure on her following the donation scandal.
Cathy Jamieson Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She pr ...
subsequently became interim party leader. A month after, Labour lost a safe Westminster seat to the SNP in the Glasgow East by-election. The 2008 Labour group leadership election was the first time Labour had elected its Scottish leader with the participation of its members, using a system similar to that used at the time by the UK-wide Labour Party (the system had been adopted in 2007, but no ballot had taken place as Alexander had been unopposed). The contenders were
Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...
, MSP for
East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...
, a former
Enterprise Minister The Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning was a cabinet position in the Scottish Executive. The position was first created in the 1999 as part of the Dewar government and continued into the McLeish cabinet. Following the election of ...
in the previous Labour Executive, Andy Kerr, MSP for
East Kilbride East Kilbride (; ), sometimes referred to as EK, is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland, and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. Historically a small village, it was designated Scotland's first "new town" on 6 Ma ...
and former Health Secretary in the previous administration, and
Cathy Jamieson Catherine Mary Jamieson (born 3 November 1956) is a Scottish business director, currently a director at Kilmarnock Football Club and former politician. She served as the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 2000 to 2008. She pr ...
MSP, the acting party leader who had been deputy leader under Jack McConnell. On 13 September 2008, Gray was elected leader and promised a "fresh start" for Labour in Scotland. A few months later, Labour won the Glenrothes by-election in Fife. The result was considered a surprise, as there was speculation that the SNP could have won an upset similar to Glasgow East. The
2009 European Parliament election The 2009 European Parliament election was held in the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) between 4 and 7 June 2009. A total of 736 Member of the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were elected to represent s ...
was catastrophic for Labour, falling behind the SNP for the first time and producing its worst results since before
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. However, it easily won the Glasgow North East by-election later that year, which had been triggered by the resignation of House Speaker Michael Martin in the wake of the expenses scandal.


2010–2012: Re-evaluating position

At the 2010 general election on 6 May 2010, contrary to polls preceding the election, Labour consolidated their vote in Scotland, losing no seats (despite losing 91 seats across the rest of Britain) and regained Glasgow East from the SNP. This resulted in incumbent Scottish secretary Jim Murphy stating that the result provided an impetus for Scottish Labour to attempt to become "the biggest party in Holyrood" in the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections. Labour led the SNP in the polls for the
2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...
until the campaign began in March, at which point support for the SNP rallied. The SNP went on to win an unprecedented majority in the Scottish Parliament, a result that had been considered impossible under the proportional voting system. Labour had a net loss of 7 seats to the SNP. It also lost most of their constituency seats, although its share of the constituency vote declined by less than 1%. Labour's defeat was attributed to their campaign being directed mostly against the government in Westminster instead of the SNP. Party leader
Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...
, who held on to his own seat by only 151 votes, announced that he would be resigning with effect from later in the year. Eight weeks later, Labour easily retained a Westminster seat at the Inverclyde by-election, suggesting that Scottish Labour's disappointing performance in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election would not necessarily translate into support for its political opponents in other elections. Following the 2011 Scottish election,
Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...
commissioned the '' Review of the Labour Party in Scotland'' of the future structure and operation of the Labour Party in Scotland, co-chaired by Murphy and
Sarah Boyack Sarah Herriot Boyack (born 16 May 1961) is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Cent ...
MSP. The review included a recommendation for a new post of Leader of the Scottish Labour Party to be created (previous Scottish Labour leaders had only been the leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament). Others included more autonomy for the Scottish party and the reorganisation of members into branches based on Holyrood constituencies rather than Westminster constituencies. On 17 December 2011,
Johann Lamont Johann MacDougall Lamont (; born 11 July 1957) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and De ...
MSP was elected as leader and
Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...
MP was elected as her deputy. Delivering her victory speech, Lamont said: "I want to change Scotland, but the only way we can change Scotland is by changing the Scottish Labour Party." In the
2012 Scottish local elections The 2012 Scottish local elections were held on 3 May 2012 in all 32 local authorities. The Scottish National Party (SNP) overtook Labour to win the highest share of the vote, and retained and strengthened its position as the party with most cou ...
, Labour were outpolled by the SNP. However, it gained votes and council seats and held its majorities on the councils of
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
and
North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns, and villages. It also borders East Dunbartonshire, Falkirk (co ...
and regained control of
Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...
and
West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire (; , ) is one of the 32 Local government in Scotland, local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. ...
.


2014 independence referendum and aftermath

For the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, Scottish Labour joined with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats to form the pro-union Better Together campaign against
Scottish independence Scottish independence (; ) is the idea of Scotland regaining its independence and once again becoming a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom. The term Scottish independence refers to the political movement that is campaignin ...
. It was led by
Alistair Darling Alistair Maclean Darling, Baron Darling of Roulanish, (28 November 1953 – 30 November 2023) was a British politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer under prime minister Gordon Brown from 2007 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party ...
, a former Labour minister. In addition, Scottish Labour ran its own pro-UK campaign
United with Labour United with Labour was Scottish Labour's campaign for a "No" vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched in 2013 by the Scottish Labour leadership along with former prime minister Gordon Brown. The campaign focused on the ...
alongside, with the support of former Prime Minister
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
.
Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...
MP also led an unofficial organisation called the "2014 Truth Team", described by the party as "dedicated to cutting through the noise and delivering ..facts on independence". In July 2012, a member of Scottish Labour started
Labour for Independence Labour for Independence (LFI) is a political organisation for Scottish Labour supporters who are in favour of Scottish independence. It claimed to have 2,000 members across Scotland in June 2014. Following the September 2014 independence referen ...
, a rebel group of Labour supporters who back
Yes Scotland Yes Scotland was the organisation representing the parties, organisations, and individuals campaigning for a ''Yes'' vote in the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. It was launched on 25 May 2012 and dissolved in late 2014 after Scotland vot ...
in the campaign for Scottish independence. The group was dismissed by the Scottish Labour leadership as lacking "real support" from within the party. The referendum was held on 18 September 2014 and resulted in a 55.3%–44.7% victory for the No side. However, many of Labour's traditional strongholds favoured the Yes side, notably including
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. The SNP had a surge in membership and gained a wide lead over Labour in the opinion polls. On 24 October 2014,
Johann Lamont Johann MacDougall Lamont (; born 11 July 1957) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and De ...
announced her resignation as leader. She accused Labour's UK-wide leadership of undermining her attempts to reform the Scottish Labour Party and treating it "like a branch office of London." The party's 2014 leadership election was won by
Jim Murphy James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East R ...
, an MP who had previously served as
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
and been a prominent campaigner for the pro-Union side in the referendum. In his victory speech, Murphy said that his election marked a "fresh start" for Scottish Labour: "Scotland is changing and so too is Scottish Labour. I'm ambitious for our party because I'm ambitious for our country". He also said that he planned to defeat the SNP in 2016, and would use the increased powers being devolved to Holyrood to end poverty and inequality. In her speech after being elected deputy leader,
Kezia Dugdale Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of th ...
said that the party's "focus has to be on the future – a Scottish Labour party that's fighting fit and fighting for our future".


2015–2021: Collapse at Westminster and Holyrood crisis

Labour's poll ratings in Scotland did not reverse, and the party suffered a landslide defeat in the general election in May 2015, losing 40 of their 41 seats to the SNP. Many senior party figures were unseated, including Murphy himself (
East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire (; ) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood (district), Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and ma ...
), Shadow Foreign Secretary
Douglas Alexander Douglas Garven Alexander (born 26 October 1967) is a British politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade Policy and Economic Security since 2024, having previously held the role from 2004 to 2005. He has also served as Minister o ...
(
Paisley and Renfrewshire South Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system o ...
) and Shadow Scotland Secretary
Margaret Curran Margaret Patricia Curran, Baroness Curran (born 24 November 1958), is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the House of Commons as the member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 and 2015, and was Shadow Secretary of S ...
(
Glasgow East Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
). Ian Murray ( Edinburgh South) was the only MP re-elected. It was the first time since
1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...
that the party had not won the most votes in Scotland at a general election. On 16 May 2015, Murphy resigned as leader effective 13 June 2015. Under normal circumstances, Deputy Leader
Kezia Dugdale Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of th ...
would become acting leader, but former Leader
Iain Gray Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having p ...
was appointed Acting Leader whilst a leadership and a deputy leadership election are being simultaneously held on account of Dugdale resigning as Deputy Leader to stand for Leader. Dugdale won the 2015 leadership election on 15 August 2015, beating
Ken Macintosh Kenneth Donald Macintosh (born 15 January 1962) is a Scottish politician who served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a member of Scottish Labour, he suspended his party membership on becoming Pr ...
. On 1 November 2015, Scottish Labour Party delegates backed a vote to scrap the UK's
Trident nuclear missile system Trident, also known as the Trident nuclear programme or Trident nuclear deterrent, covers the development, procurement and operation of nuclear weapons in the United Kingdom and their means of delivery. Its purpose as stated by the Ministry of ...
. The motion was supported by an overwhelming majority, in which both party members and unions voted 70% in favor of the motion. In the
2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth Next Scottish Parliament election, election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It ...
, Labour lost a third of its seats, dropping from 37 to 24. Labour got its lowest percentage of the vote in Scotland in 98 years with 23% and fell into 3rd place, a position it last occupied in Scotland in 1910, behind the
Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
. The party also only won 3 constituency seats: holding onto the
Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...
and
East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...
constituencies and gaining the Edinburgh Southern constituency from the SNP, whilst losing eleven of its 2011 constituencies to the SNP and two to the Conservatives. In the 2017 local elections, Labour's share of first preference votes fell from 31.4% to 20.2%, while it lost over 130 seats. This result meant the Party fell to third place in terms of both vote share and number of councillors. Labour also lost control of Glasgow and three other councils where it had a majority. At the beginning of the 2017 general election campaign, Labour's poll ratings fell to a historic low 13%, and were more than 15% behind the Conservatives in Scotland in some polls. However, towards the end of the campaign Labour's polling increased to levels around the 24% which it had received in 2015. On election day itself, the party managed to improve on its 2015 result and received 27% of the Scottish vote in a surprisingly good night for the party nationwide, and picked up 6 seats from the SNP in traditionally Labour areas such as
Coatbridge Coatbridge (, ) is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, about east of Glasgow city centre, set in the central Lowlands. Along with neighbouring town Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, Airdrie, Coatbridge forms the area known as the Monklands (popula ...
,
Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
,
Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; ; ) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, making it Fife's second-largest s ...
, and
Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
, bringing its Scottish number of seats to 7. Despite the positive result for the party, Labour remained in third place in Scotland, behind the Conservatives on 29%, and the SNP on 37%. On 29 August 2017, Dugdale resigned as leader of the Scottish Labour Party. Her deputy,
Alex Rowley Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley (born 30 November 1963) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017 and acting leader of the party from August to November 2017. He has been a Member of the ...
, took over as acting leader until 15 November, when he was suspended from Scottish Labour's parliamentary party while a probe into his conduct took place. Jackie Baillie took over as acting leader until the conclusion of the leadership election. The election for a new leader of the Scottish Labour party took place between 11 September 2017 (when nominations opened) and 18 November 2017, when the new leader was announced. Nominations for leadership candidates closed on 17 September. Anyone that wished to vote in the leadership election must have either been a member of the Scottish Labour Party, an 'affiliated supporter' (through being signed up as a Scottish Labour Party supporter through an affiliated organisation or union), or a 'registered supporter' (which requires signing up online and paying a one-off fee of £12) by 9 October. Voting opened on 27 October and closed at midday on 17 November.
Richard Leonard Richard Leonard (born January 1962) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland ...
won the leadership election with 56.7% of the vote and was elected as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party on 18 November. On 12 December 2019, Scottish Labour returned to having only one seat in Westminster ( Edinburgh South). Leonard apologised for the UK party failing to address concerns over Brexit and for the Scottish party not having stopped what he described as the "SNP juggernaut". However, he said he would continue as leader and carry out a listening exercise. After surviving previous calls for him to go, Leonard resigned as leader on 14 January 2021, triggering the
2021 Scottish Labour leadership election The 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election was triggered on 14 January 2021 by the resignation of Richard Leonard as leader of the Scottish Labour, Scottish Labour Party, who had led the party 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election, since ...
. Shortly afterwards, it was reported that Leonard had been pressured into resigning by wealthy donors, who told UK Labour leader
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
that they would not give money to the Westminster party unless Leonard quit.


2021–present: Anas Sarwar leadership

On 27 February 2021, former Deputy Leader
Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...
was elected Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, defeating rival
Monica Lennon Monica Lennon (' Ward; born 7 January 1981) is a Scottish politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2016. A member of the Scottish Labour Party, she has served in various roles ...
by 57.6% to 42.4% and promised to heal and unite the party. At the
2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...
, Labour lost a further two seats including the constituency seat of
East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...
, bringing their number of MSPs to 22, an all-time low. They also recorded their worst performance on both the Constituency and List vote in terms of vote share, however it was better than had been predicted by many polls at the start of Sarwar's tenure as leader, some of which had predicted Labour to potentially fall to fourth place behind the
Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; ) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has 7 MSPs of 129 in the Scottish Parliament, the party holds 35 of the 1226 councillors at Scottish local Government level. The ...
. Under Sarwar's leadership, Scottish Labour have re-affirmed their constitutional position of unionism which has led to a sometimes controversial selections of candidates. The party has been criticised for fielding a number of candidates affiliated with the
Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...
in local elections. In February 2022, during an interview on
Times Radio Times Radio is a British digital radio station owned by News UK, part of the Murdoch family, Murdoch media empire. It is jointly operated by News Broadcasting (which News UK acquired in 2016, when it was known as ''Wireless Group''), ''The Tim ...
, Sarwar said: " abourhave got to demonstrate to people the kind of alternative we can have and the difference it would make to people's lives so they positively vote Labour, not just negatively vote against the Tories or the SNP. If I'm honest, I didn't quite grip or grasp how I think hollowed out we were as an organisation, not just in terms of our political message and our political result, as an organisation I hadn't really grasped how hollowed out we were." The party rebranded the following month, changing its traditional red rose logo to a red and purple thistle. A party spokesman said: "Scottish Labour is committed to transforming our party to win back the trust of the people to Scotland. We're on the side of the Scots, and hope they'll join us so we can build the future together. To do that we need new ideas and new thinking. At Scottish Labour conference this week you will hear Anas Sarwar relentlessly focus on the future."


2022 Scottish local elections

At the 2022 local elections, Labour made minor gains and overtook the Conservatives into second place by gaining 20 seats and a slight increase in their share of the vote, but still finished far behind the SNP; with 282 seats overall, it was Labour's second worst-worst result since
1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
, beaten only by the 262 seats won in 2017. The party was criticised in the aftermath of the elections for pledging to do no deals or partake in coalitions with the SNP or the Greens, instead choosing to work with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to form minority administrations in several cases. In Edinburgh, they suspended two councillors for refusing to vote for the deal which gave Conservatives positions within the council.


Second independence referendum

Sarwar, like Starmer, voiced his opposition to a
proposed second Scottish independence referendum A second referendum (commonly referred to as indyref2) on Scotland becoming Scottish independence, independent of the United Kingdom (UK) has been proposed by the Scottish Government. An 2014 Scottish independence referendum, independence refe ...
, stating that a Labour government would not grant a Section 30 order for one to be held. In October 2023, Labour won the
2023 Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election A 2023 by-election took place in the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Rutherglen and Hamilton West (UK Parliament constituency), Rutherglen and Hamilton West on 5 October 2023, following the recall of incumbent MP Margaret Ferrier. F ...
with the election of
Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Dr Charles Harris in the Canadian medi ...
. Michael Shanks was elected with a 24.1% swing from the SNP who held the seat since 2015.


2024 UK general election

At the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
, across the United Kingdom, the Labour Party won the election with a landslide victory, winning 411 seats across the United Kingdom, with Scottish Labour winning 37 of the 57 Scottish seats contested at the election. The electoral success for Scottish Labour in Scotland at the 2024 UK general election was also considered a landslide, with Scottish Labour returning as the largest political party representing Scotland at the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...
. Scottish Labour Party leader, Anas Sarwar, said on the morning of the 5 July following the electoral success of the Scottish Labour Party "this is a historic day for Scotland and for the entire UK. People are waking up to the news that after 14 years of Conservative government, after 14 years of chaos and division, it has come to an end and Scotland and the UK has elected a Labour government". As new
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
,
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
, began to select his new ministry cabinet on 5 July, Scottish Labour MP Ian Murray was subsequently appointed to the cabinet as
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
.


Elected representatives (current)


House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

* Ian MurrayMP for Edinburgh South since
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland The shadow secretary of state for Scotland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland, secretary of state for Scotland and his/he ...
2015–2016 and 2020–2024.
Secretary of State for Scotland The secretary of state for Scotland (; ), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Scotland Office. The incum ...
2024–present *
Michael Shanks Michael Garrett Shanks (born December 15, 1970) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Daniel Jackson in the long-running military science fiction television series ''Stargate SG-1'' and as Dr Charles Harris in the Canadian medi ...
MP for
Rutherglen Rutherglen (; , ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, immediately south-east of the city of Glasgow, from its centre and directly south of the River Clyde. Having previously existed as a separate Lanarkshire burgh, in 1975 Rutherglen lo ...
since 2023.


Scottish Parliament


Holyrood spokespeople

*
Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election, 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottis ...
– Leader of the Scottish Labour Party *
Jackie Baillie Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie (' Barnes; born 15 January 1964) is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election, 2020. She has been Member of the Scottis ...
– Deputy leader of Scottish Labour Party and general election campaign co-coordinator, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care and Drugs Policy * Ian Murray – Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland and general election campaign co-coordinator *
Neil Bibby Neil James Bibby (born 6 September 1983) is a Scottish Labour co-operative politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2011. Early life and career Born in Paisley, Bibby grew up ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture *
Sarah Boyack Sarah Herriot Boyack (born 16 May 1961) is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region since 2019, and previously from 2011 to 2016. She formerly represented the Edinburgh Cent ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy, and Just Transition * Foysol Choudhury – Shadow Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development *
Katy Clark The Rt Hon Katy Clark MSP (born 3 July 1967), is a British politician and life peer who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. A member of the Labour ...
– Shadow Minister for Community Safety * Pam Duncan-Glancy – Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills *
Rhoda Grant Rhoda Grant (born 26 June 1963) is a Scottish politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands region since 2007, having previously represented the same region from 1999 to 2003. A member of t ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands * Mark Griffin – Shadow Minister for Local Government and Housing * Daniel Johnson – Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Business and Fair Work *
Pauline McNeill Pauline Mary McNeill (born 12 September 1962) is a Scottish Labour politician serving as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region. She previously represented the Glasgow Kelvin constituency. Having represented her cons ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Justice *
Michael Marra Michael Marra (17 February 1952 – 23 October 2012) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician from Dundee, Scotland. Known as the Bard of Dundee, Marra was a solo performer who toured the UK and performed in arts centres, theatres, folk cl ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance * Carol Mochan – Shadow Minister for Public Health and Women's Health *
Paul O'Kane Paul Francis O'Kane (born 21 March 1988) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, Co-operative politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region), West Scotland ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice and Social Security, and Equalities *
Paul Sweeney Paul John Sweeney FIES ; born 16 January 1989) is a Scottish politician. A member of the Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party, he currently serves as Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region in the 6th Scottish Parliame ...
– Shadow Minister for Mental Health and Veterans *
Colin Smyth Colin Smyth (born November 1972) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region since 2016. A member of Scottish Labour, he served as its general secretary ...
– Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Economic Development and Rural Affairs *
Alex Rowley Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley (born 30 November 1963) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017 and acting leader of the party from August to November 2017. He has been a Member of the ...
– Shadow Minister for Transport * Mercedes Villalba – Shadow Minister for Environment and Biodiversity *
Martin Whitfield Martin David Whitfield (born 12 August 1965) is a Scottish Labour politician and former lawyer and primary school teacher who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region and the Convener of the Standards ...
– Business Manager and Shadow Minister for Children and Young People


Members of the 6th Scottish Parliament (2021–present)


Appointments


House of Lords


Electoral performance


House of Commons


Scottish Parliament


Local councils


European Parliament

Note that the voting system changed from the 1999 election onwards.


See also

*
Campaign for Socialism Campaign for Socialism (CfS) is an autonomous political organisation of Scottish Labour Party members and supporters who campaign for left-wing policies and candidates within the party. In 2016, CfS agreed to a joint membership scheme with Moment ...


References


Further reading

* Alexander, Wendy (2005), ''
Donald Dewar Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland, first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Par ...
, Scotland's First Minister'',
Mainstream Publishing Mainstream Publishing was a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1978, it ceased trading in December 2013.Charlotte WilliamsMainstream to cease publishing 1 March 2013, The Bookseller.com' (Retrieved 30 December 2016) It was as ...
, * Hassan, Gerry (2003),''The Scottish Labour Party'',
Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
, * Hassan, Gerry; Shaw, Eric (2012), ''
The Strange Death of Labour Scotland ''The Strange Death of Labour Scotland'' is a 2012 book about Scottish politics by Gerry Hassan and Eric Shaw. Synopsis Hassan and Shaw examine the decline of Scottish Labour, culminating in it losing Scottish Parliament elections in 2007 and ...
'',
Edinburgh University Press Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland. History Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
, * Henderson, Ailsa; Johns, Rob; Larner, Jac; and Carman, Chris (2020),
Scottish Labour as a case study in party failure: Evidence from the 2019 UK General Election in Scotland
" ''Scottish Affairs'' * Keating, Michael; Bleiman, David (1979), ''Labour and
Scottish Nationalism Scottish nationalism promotes the idea that the Scottish people form a cohesive nation and Scottish national identity, national identity. Scottish nationalism began to shape from 1853 with the National Association for the Vindication of Scottis ...
'', Macmillan, * Keating, Michael (1983), ''Labour and Scottish Nationalism: An Update'', in Hearn, Sheila G. (ed.), ''
Cencrastus ''Cencrastus'' was a magazine devoted to Scottish and international literature, arts and affairs, founded after the Referendum of 1979 by students, mainly of Scottish literature, at Edinburgh University, and with support from Cairns Craig, then a ...
'' No. 12, Spring 1983, pp. 29 – 31, * Knox, William W. (1984), ''Scottish Labour Leaders 1918 – 1939: A Biographical Dictionary'',
Mainstream Publishing Mainstream Publishing was a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1978, it ceased trading in December 2013.Charlotte WilliamsMainstream to cease publishing 1 March 2013, The Bookseller.com' (Retrieved 30 December 2016) It was as ...
, * Rosen, Greg (2001), ''Dictionary of Labour Biography'', Politicos Publishing, * Rosen, Greg (2005), ''Old Labour to New'', Politicos Publishing. * Stuart, Mark (2005), '' John Smith – A Life'', Politicos Publishing,


External links

* {{Authority control 1915 establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Glasgow Political parties established in 1915