Labour leadership: Why is no Scottish MP standing in the Labour deputy contest to replace Angela Rayner?

Nominations close on Thursday evening and there are three people still in the race: Bridget Phillipson, Lucy Powell and Bell Ribeiro-Addy.

But no Scottish Labour MPs have put themselves forward.

Scots have previously played a big part in the UK party and there are now 37 Labour MPs north of the Border.

So why has no one stood in the race to replace Angela Rayner?

Lack of experience

The main reason no one has come forward is there is a lack of experience among the Scottish Labour group.

Just two years ago, Ian Murray was the sole Scottish Labour MP. Michael Shanks joined him in October 2023, but the other 35 MPs were all elected in July.

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This means there is a lack of prominent MPs who would be able to garner the 80 nominations needed to get on the ballot

One MP said: “It’s unrealistic to suggest that someone from the class of ‘24 should go for deputy leader.”

Another Scottish Labour source agreed: “It's probably too early for most to consider. The more obvious candidates all have ministerial portfolios. They'll be focusing on their new roles.”

More obvious candidates

One MP suggested the only people who would have been able to go for it were Douglas Alexander and Mr Murray - but that their government roles had stopped them from standing.

Mr Murray ran in the previous contest five years ago, but finished fourth out of five with less than 15 per cent of the vote.

Mr Alexander may have only returned as an MP last year, but he has vast government and Cabinet experience from his previous 18-year stint.

But given that last week’s decision to sack Mr Murray as Scottish Secretary and replace him with Mr Alexander caused so much anger in the Scottish party and sparked a briefing war, it is understandable that neither threw their hat into the ring.

Another potential candidate could have been Mr Shanks, the energy minister. He has impressed since winning the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election in October 2023 and is regularly tipped as someone who will go far in the party.

But like the 2024 intake, he has limited experience and the contest probably came too early for him to consider standing.

Also there is a general consensus in the Parliamentary Labour Party that Ms Rayner’s replacement should be a woman to give the party leadership some gender balance.

The future

There are eight Scots in UK government roles at the moment: Mr Alexander, Mr Murray, MR Shanks, Blair McDougall, Martin McCluskey, Zubir Ahmed, Gregor Poynton and Imogen Walker.

MPs Melanie Ward, Alan Gemmell and Gordon McKee have also been tipped for ministerial jobs in the future. It suggests there is a chance we could see a Scottish Labour MP on the ballot in a future contest.

But because the SNP dominated Westminster elections in Scotland, it means there are not enough people with a big enough profile to challenge this time round.