DEPUTY RACE

IF JIM Murphy, below, fulfils expectations and becomes the leader of Scottish Labour, the question of who becomes his deputy will be crucial for Labour.

As an MP, he would be leading the Scottish party from Westminster. For Labour to function properly at Holyrood, he would need a strong deputy capable of taking on Nicola Sturgeon.

It was for this reason that Anas Sarwar’s early statements when the Glasgow Central MP said he intended to stay as deputy leader threw a spanner in Mr Murphy’s plans. Having two MPs in charge of Holyrood MSPs would be attacked by the SNP.

Mr Sarwar’s change of mind and his decision to resign now opens the door for an MSP to have a leadership role at Holyrood.

Picture: Ian Rutherford The jungle drums are beating over the possibility of Lothian MSP Kezia Dugdale standing in the contest for Scottish Labour’s deputy leader