Breaking: Kezia Dugdale steps down as Scottish Labour leader

[Denzil_DC]

33. Finally, the leadership election results, and the winner is ...

Richard Leonard:

Leonard won a total of 56.7% with his opponent, Anas Sarwar, only managing to pick up 43.3% of the vote. The contest had a turnout of 62.3%.

The MSP said Sarwar will have a "vital role to play" going forward.

https://stv.tv/news/politics/1402509-richard-leonard-elected-as-new-scottish-labour-leader/

Leonard's seen as a Corbyn ally. He's only been an MSP since 2015, having been a GMB union organiser for many years, so has little track record in government (which may be a good thing for him).

He inherits a party riven by the often bitter leadership election and recent scandals and kerfuffles:

... ex-interim leader Alex Rowley was suspended from Labour on Wednesday over accusations of sending a string of abusive messages and controlling behaviour by his former partner.

This leaves Scottish Labour currently without a deputy leader (Rowley's official permanent post), so another election may be on the cards.

Meanwhile, ex-leader Kezia Dugdale has been drafted in at the last minute to appear on I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me out of Here (no, this is not The Onion), which is causing unrest among the ranks of a party that's been keen to accuse the SNP (in chorus with the Scottish Tories, whose leader is due to take part in The Great British Bake-Off) of "not getting on with the day job":

Leonard: Dugdale may be suspended in next few days

New Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has told STV News he will hold talks with his MSPs about suspending his predecessor Kezia Dugdale in the next few days.

Dugdale has decided to leave the country to star in the hit ITV reality show I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here in Australia.

Her decision to leave her duties behind at Holyrood has been met with fierce criticism from her colleagues.

Labour MSP Jenny Marra tweeted: "Election to parliament is a privilege to serve and represent people. It's not a shortcut to celebrity."

https://stv.tv/news/politics/1402512-leonard-dugdale-may-be-suspended-in-next-few-days/

Dugdale says she will donate her MSP salary during the time she's on the show and part of her appearance fee to charity.