Who is in the running for the leadership of Scottish Labour?

Nominations in the Scottish Labour leadership election opened on 3 August.

Candidates have until 17 August to secure nominations from at least three MPs and three MSPs, and until 24 August to receive nominations from at least three organisations affiliated to Labour – at least two of which must be trade unions.

The election has been triggered by the former Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accepting a peerage in order to become a trade minister in Andy Burnham’s government.

So far, three candidates have announced they’re in the running – Joe Fagan, Monica Lennon and Michael Marra.

But who are they and what do they stand for?

Joe Fagan

Joe Fagan has been a regional MSP for South Scotland since May 2026, and has served as the Shadow minister for Public Finance and Local Government since then. He was leader of South Lanarkshire Council from 2022-2026. During his time in that role,

At the time of writing, Fagan has been nominated by two MPs – Frank McNally and Katrina Laidlan – and three MSPs – Irsha Ahmed, Neil Bibby and himself.

Writing for LabourList, Fagan has said that he is standing for the Scottish Labour leadership in order to make the party ‘rooted in places again’ and to deliver ‘good work, affordable homes, strong local services and an economy that rewards the workers and wealth builders’.

Monica Lennon

Monica Lennon was a regional MSP for Central Scotland from 2016-2026. She sought re-election in 2026 in the Glasgow region but fell short of getting elected, being fourth on Labour’s list of candidates. Lennon has now re-entered the Scottish Parliament as a result of Sarwar’s resignation.

At the time of writing, Lennon has been nominated by one MP – Euan Stainbank – and two MSPs, Katy Clark and herself.

Seen as the more left-wing candidate in the race, Lennon has said that Scottish Labour needs a “radical reset rooted in democratic socialism” and that the party should work to “tackle inequality, strengthen public ownership where it delivers better outcomes, empower trade unions, and use the power of government to improve people’s lives.”

Lennon stood against Sarwar in the 2021 Scottish Labour leadership election. She came second picking up 42.4 per cent of the vote.

Michael Marra

Michael Marra has been an MSP for the North East Scotland region since 2021. Following his election, he was appointed as Labour’s shadow education and skills secretary, before being appointed shadow finance secretary in 2023.

At the time of writing, Marra has received nominations from six MPs – Tracy Gilbert, Martin McCluskey, Blair McDougall, Chris Murray, Ian Murrray, Kenneth Stevenson – and three MSPs – Claire Baker, Jenny Young and himself. That means he’s the first candidate to secure the required number of nominations from elected parliamentarians in order to get on the ballot.

Writing for LabourList, Marra said that he wanted to renew the Scottish Labour as a ‘moral crusade’ and that the party has ‘always been strongest when it has been rooted in the lives of working people’. He added that: “Economic growth and social justice must not be competing priorities, they are the twin track route to a fairer Scotland.”

Once the nominations phase has concluded, Scottish Labour Party members will be able to vote for their next leader from 28 August to 17 September.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward