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Who could replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader?

Anas Sarwar’s move to Westminster is expected to trigger a Scottish Labour leadership contest, with Dame Jackie Baillie, Michael Marra, Monica Lennon, Daniel Johnson and Paul Sweeney among those discussed.

·2 min read
Group of around 15 people wearing business attire and red floral lapel pins pose for a photograph on a staircase inside a modern parliamentary-style building. The group is arranged across several steps, with handrails, concrete walls and wooden architectural features visible in the background.

The Scottish Labour party currently has 17 MSP's.

With Anas Sarwar set for Westminster, Scottish Labour are all but certainly going to be on the hunt for a new leader. The party is still reeling from their worst Holyrood election result in Scottish Parliament history, returning just 17 of the 129 seats available.

No contest has been announced yet, but who could be in the running?

Could Dame Jackie Baillie become more than acting leader?

Dame Jackie Baillie will become acting leader - but will she make it more permanent?

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Jackie Baillie seated at a wooden desk in a parliamentary-style chamber, adjusting a pair of glasses. A microphone, black chair and surrounding wooden desks are visible.
Image caption, Dame Jackie Baillie will become acting leader - but will she make it more permanent?

When Sarwar steps down, it is expected that his deputy Dame Jackie Baillie will step in as acting leader, as she has done three times in the past.

Baillie is a Holyrood stalwart. She is one of only two MSP's - alongside John Swinney - to serve continuously in the Scottish Parliament since its inception in 1999.

She is a popular figure in the party and there will be no doubt calls for her to stand for the job.

But this is a request she has resisted in the past, saying she was

content to be the supporting act
, external.

Before politics, the Hong Kong-born MSP worked in both the public and voluntary sectors.

Why is Michael Marra being talked about as the obvious successor?

Michael Marra is seen as the

This article was sourced from bbc

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