Ian Murray to stand for Labour deputy leadership

Scotland’s only Labour MP, Ian Murray, has announced he is standing to be the party’s deputy leader.

The Edinburgh South MP and former shadow Scottish secretary said Labour must change and become a “credible alternative government of the future, not a protest movement of the past”.

Murray, who won his seat with a majority of more than 11,000 in December’s general election, said the party needs to learn how to win by building coalitions of support.

His four-point strategy includes listening to voters in seats the party lost, where it won and “sending a clear message” that it is paying attention to the “all the nations and regions”; being clear about where Labour stands on the key issues of the day such as independence and Brexit; reforming Labour as an organisation; and having an “open and inclusive policy process” to create Labour’s next manifesto.

Murray said: “I’m standing to be deputy leader of the Labour Party because I want to help us win power to transform lives. 

“Growing up on the Wester Hailes council estate in Edinburgh, the Tory government believed families like ours didn’t deserve support. But my mum and my teachers told me and my brother there was nothing we couldn’t achieve.

“I want that hope and aspiration for every child. That’s what the Labour Party can deliver when it’s in power.

“The architects of the party’s catastrophic failure in 2019 cannot be allowed to be the architects of the response.

"The next leadership team must turn us into an election-winning machine that uses the skills and talents of all our members and supporters to succeed.

“To win again we will need to beat the odds, and I know how to win by building broad coalitions of support. 

“The Labour Party must change. We must be honest with ourselves so we can be honest with the voters.

"Looking to the past will only prolong our years in the wilderness and put our country at risk.

“We must become a credible alternative government of the future, not a protest movement of the past.

“That’s how we lift millions of children, families, and pensioners out of poverty again.”