Dame Jacqueline Marie Baillie is a 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.
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 2 of 59 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.
Iain Cumming Gray 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 previously represented Edinburgh Pentlands from 1999 to 2003. A former aid worker and teacher of mathematics and physics,Gray was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as MSP for the Edinburgh Pentlands constituency,which he lost to Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party David McLetchie in 2003. Gray was returned to Holyrood in 2007 as MSP for East Lothian. Following Wendy Alexander's resignation as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2008,Gray stood at the subsequent leadership election,and was elected with a 57.8% share of the vote in the second round.
Claire Josephine Baker is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2007.
James Anthony Kelly is a Scottish politician who has served as General Secretary of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region between 2016 and 2021,having previously been MSP for Rutherglen from 2007 to 2016.
Unlike in the Parliament at Westminster where there is an Official Opposition to the government of the day,all parties in the Scottish Parliament that are not in government are all technically on the same footing as 'opposition parties'. With the Scottish National Party (SNP) currently in government,the Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour each have a Shadow Cabinet composed of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and prospective parliamentary candidates.
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.
Anas Sarwar is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016,having been Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from 2010 to 2015.
Neil James Bibby 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.
Siobhan Marie McMahon is a Scottish Labour Party politician who served as a regional list Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region from 2011 to 2016.
Mary Christina Fee is a Scottish politician who was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Scottish Labour Party,she was its deputy spokesperson for a number of portfolios from 2017 to 2019.
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 2014 Scottish Labour Party leadership election was an internal party election to choose a new leader and deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party,following the resignations of Johann Lamont as leader and Anas Sarwar as deputy. Lamont announced her decision in an interview with the Daily Record on 24 October,saying that she was stepping down effective immediately because the UK Labour Party treated the Scottish party as a "branch office of London". Lamont,who had won the 2011 leadership contest,thus becoming the first Scottish leader to have authority over Labour's Scottish MPs in the House of Commons as well as in the Scottish Parliament,was the second leader of a Scottish political party to resign in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum. Before her resignation,Alex Salmond announced his intention to relinquish the role of Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and First Minister. Sarwar announced his own resignation on 30 October,saying he felt it was right for the party to elect a new leadership team.
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.
Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth is a Scottish politician who is serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP),she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since 2016.
Daniel Guy Johnson is a Scottish Labour politician who has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Edinburgh Southern constituency since 2016.
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.
Monica Lennon 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 on the Scottish Labour front bench. She was the Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Health and Sport from 2018 to 2021,Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Economy,Jobs and Fair Work from March 2021 to June 2021 and Scottish Labour Spokesperson for Net Zero,Energy and Transport from June 2021 to November 2021. She was a candidate in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election and currently serves on the Scottish Parliament's Net Zero,Energy and Transport Committee.
The 2017 Scottish Labour Party leadership election was triggered on 29 August 2017 by the resignation of Kezia Dugdale as leader of the Scottish Labour Party,having led the party for two years. MSP Jackie Baillie was acting interim leader for the last week of the election after Alex Rowley,the original interim leader,was suspended from the party over allegations of a criminal nature.
The 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election was triggered on 14 January 2021 by the resignation of Richard Leonard as leader of the Scottish Labour Party,who had led the party since 2017. Two candidates were nominated,Anas Sarwar and Monica Lennon.
