Head of Scottish Labour to resign next month

Head of Scottish Labour to resign next month

LONDON  - The leader of Scotland's Labour Party, Jim Murphy, said he would resign next month, announcing his decision just over a week after Labour's crushing election defeat in which it lost all but one of its 41 parliamentary seats in Scotland.

Murphy, one of the many Labour lawmakers who failed to keep his seat last week, said he would hand in his resignation at a party meeting next month, bearing the consequences of Labour's defeat in Scotland after only five months in the job. "I will be standing down at the next meeting of the Scottish Labour Party's executive," Murphy said at a news conference in Glasgow on Saturday.

Minutes earlier, Murphy had survived a no-confidence vote held by Scottish Labour's executive.

Pressure from within the party for Murphy to resign had grown over the past days as some argued fresh leadership was needed to rebuild Scottish Labour following the disastrous election performance.

Labour's election loss resulted in the resignation of party leader Ed Miliband who took personal responsibility for the left-leaning party's failed bid to enter government.

This website is best viewed using the latest versions of web browsers.