2018 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election

Last updated

2018 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election
Flag of Scotland.svg
  2015 28 May 2018 2020  
  Lesley Laird Official Parliamentary Photo.jpg
Candidate Lesley Laird

Deputy leader before election

Alex Rowley

Elected Deputy leader

Lesley Laird

The 2018 Scottish Labour Party deputy leadership election was an internal party election to choose a new deputy leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament. It was triggered by the resignation on 16 December 2017 of Alex Rowley, [1] who had been suspended from the post on 15 November 2017 following allegations that he had sent abusive text messages to a former partner. [2]

Result

The only candidate nominated was Lesley Laird, who had been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath since general election in June 2017. Laird was therefore elected unopposed. She had been acting deputy leader since Rowley's resignation. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Baker (Scottish politician)</span> Scottish politician (born 1974)

Richard James Baker is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Glenrothes and Mid Fife since 2024. Baker was previously a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the North East Scotland region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Baillie</span> Scottish Labour politician

Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2020. She has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Dumbarton constituency since 1999. She also served as acting Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2017 and again in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2005 onwards

Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy is a county constituency representing the areas around the towns of Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, in Fife, Scotland, in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Labour</span> Scottish wing of the UK Labour Party

Scottish Labour, officially the Scottish Labour Party, is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist, it holds 22 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is represented by 262 of the 1,227 local councillors across Scotland. The Scottish Labour party has no separate Chief Whip at Westminster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Constance</span> Scottish Justice & Home Affairs Secretary

Angela Constance is a Scottish politician serving as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Almond Valley since 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leader of the Scottish Labour Party</span> Head of the Scottish Labour Party

The office of Leader of the Scottish Labour Party was established when the Scottish Parliament was formed in 1999 and prior to its inaugural election. Until the Murphy and Boyack review in 2011, the office was Leader of the Labour Party in the Scottish Parliament and restricted to members of the Scottish Parliament. Since the review, the office has been opened up to all elected Scottish Labour politicians, including those involved in the Parliament of the United Kingdom and local government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Salmond</span> First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond is a Scottish politician, economist and television host, who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as Leader of the Alba Party since 2021. Salmond was leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He served as the party's depute leader from 1987 to 1990. Salmond hosted The Alex Salmond Show (2017–2022) on RT UK. He currently hosts Scotland Speaks with Alex Salmond (2023–present).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kezia Dugdale</span> Former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, MSP for Lothian (born 1981)

Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale 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 the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2011 to 2019.

The Organisation of Scottish Labour is a body established under the national rules of the UK Labour Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Rowley</span> Former Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Alexander Andrew Penman Rowley 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 Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2014, firstly for the Cowdenbeath constituency and the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2016. He has been described as being on the political left of the party.

Events from the year 2014 in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Scottish Labour leadership election</span> Scottish Labour leadership election

The 2015 Scottish Labour Party leadership election was formally triggered on 16 May 2015 by the resignation of Jim Murphy as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, which took effect on 13 June 2015, following the party's defeat at the 2015 general election. A new leader and deputy leader would be chosen following the resignations of Jim Murphy and Kezia Dugdale. In the meantime, former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray took over as acting leader. On 15 August, Dugdale was elected to lead the party, while Alex Rowley was chosen to become her deputy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Scottish Parliament</span> Fifth session of Scottish Parliament

This is a list of members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election, 73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members returned from eight regions, each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Douglas Ross (Scottish politician)</span> Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party

Douglas Gordon Ross is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since 2020 and Leader of the Opposition in Scotland since 2021. He served as Member of the UK Parliament (MP) for Moray from 2017 to 2024. Ross currently serves as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands, having been elected as a regional list MSP in 2021. He was previously MSP for the region from 2016 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Leonard</span> Former Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Richard Leonard 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 region, since 2016. He ideologically identifies as a socialist, democrat and internationalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesley Laird</span> Former Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

Lesley Margaret Laird is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2019. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath from 2017 to 2019, and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland during the same period. Laird was a Member of Fife Council from 2012 to 2018 and served as the Deputy Leader of the Council.

Events from the year 2018 in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 United Kingdom general election in Scotland</span>

The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, two and a half years after the previous general election in June 2017. The Scottish National Party (SNP) received the most votes and won 48 out of 59 seats—a gain of 13 over those won in 2017, and 81% of the Scottish seats in the House of Commons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election</span> Scottish Labour Party Deputy leadership election

The 2020 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election was triggered on 16 December 2019 following the defeat of Lesley Laird as MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath in the 2019 general election. The result of the Deputy Leadership Election was announced on Twitter on 3 April 2020.

References

  1. "Alex Rowley relinquishes Scottish Labour deputy leader role". BBC News . 16 December 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  2. "Labour suspends deputy leader Alex Rowley during conduct probe". BBC . 15 November 2017. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
  3. "Lesley Laird to be Scottish Labour's deputy leader". BBC . 29 May 2018. Retrieved 19 December 2019.