Scottish Labour announces regional list candidates

Scottish Labour leadership hopefuls Monica Lennon and Anas Sarwar have been placed second on their respective regional lists of Central Scotland and Glasgow ahead of the Scottish Parliament election.

Both positions will likely see the MSPs returned to Holyrood in May.

Sarwar secured the most votes for his region but stood aside from the top slot to allow parliamentary colleague Pauline McNeill to be placed first as part of the party’s drive to return more female MSPs.

He said: “Thank you to Labour members across Glasgow for their amazing support and for electing me as our top candidate in the city I am proud to represent. We have a really strong Labour team going into this vital election.”

Lennon was placed second after former leader Richard Leonard, who retains the top slot on the Central Scotland list.

She said: “I’m delighted that Scottish Labour members in Central Scotland have once again put their trust in me to represent them at the forthcoming Holyrood elections. We have a great team of regional and constituency candidates across Scotland.”

Former MP Paul Sweeney and disability activist Pam Duncan-Glancy took the third and fourth slot respectively on the Glasgow list, while MSP Mark Griffin is third on the Central Scotland list.

Current interim leader Jackie Baillie is the lead candidate for the West Scotland regional list, followed by Neil Bibby MSP in second and Katy Clark, a member of the House of Lords and former MP, in third.

Daniel Johnson, Sarah Boyack, Rhoda Grant, Claire Baker, Alex Rowley and Colin Smyth all have a good chance of returning to parliament in May, after being ranked either first or second on their regional lists.

Meanwhile, James Kelly was placed fifth on the Glasgow list and Claudia Beamish placed fourth on the South Scotland list, meaning they will face a tougher challenge to be re-elected as MSPs.

Michael Marra, a councillor in Dundee and brother of Labour MSP Jenny Marra, tops the North East Scotland list.