Michael Marra named new leader of Scottish Labour

• Michael Marra has been elected as the new leader of Scottish Labour.
• Marra received 4,266 votes, while opponent Joe Fagan received 2,485.
• Anas Sarwar stepped down to take a seat in the House of Lords.
• Pollster Mark Diffley described Scottish Labour as 'a bit of an irrelevance'.
• Marra's challenges include regaining relevance, building a relationship with the Prime Minister, and developing appealing policies.

Michael Marra has been announced as the new leader of Scottish Labour, following Anas Sarwar's decision to step down to take a seat in the House of Lords. Marra secured 4,266 votes from party members, surpassing Joe Fagan's 2,485 in the leadership contest. Marra stated it was "the honour of my life" to be elected and thanked his opponents for their ideas.

Marra inherits a party that achieved a historically poor result in the recent Scottish Parliament election, with a group of 17 MSPs. Pollster Mark Diffley described the party as "a bit of an irrelevance" and highlighted Marra's challenges: becoming relevant again, developing a relationship with the Prime Minister, and outlining appealing policies.

One party insider suggested Labour could learn from the Scottish Greens' strategy of having their policies adopted by the governing SNP, potentially by backing SNP budgets in exchange for concessions. Another figure called for an end to a purely oppositional stance against the SNP, advocating for more constructive engagement on certain policies.

Concerns have also been raised within Scottish Labour about the Prime Minister's engagement in Scotland and Downing Street's approach to the constitution. The issue of a second Scottish independence referendum, which was briefly raised by Andy Burnham's spokesperson, remains a sensitive topic.

Marra's leadership group of MSPs is relatively small, and the contest itself was not deeply acrimonious. However, the overarching challenge for Marra is to reverse the party's pattern of decline in Holyrood.