SCOTLAND will hold the UK's future in its hands for the second time in 12 months at the May General Election, Jim Murphy, the frontrunner for the Scottish Labour leadership, has said.
SCOTLAND will hold the UK's future in its hands for the second time in 12 months at the May General Election, Jim Murphy, the frontrunner for the Scottish Labour leadership, has said.
Today, the polls close on the contest with the East Renfrewshire MP competing with Lothian MSPs Neil Findlay and Sarah Boyack for the role vacated by Johann Lamont; the victor will be crowned on Saturday.
Insiders suggest that while Mr Murphy has picked up the largest amount of support in the parliamentarians' section of the electoral college, leftwinger Mr Findlay has gained the lion's share of the unions' vote. In this scenario, it looks as though it will be down to which one of them can win over the constituency members' section. Ms Boyack is not expected to win.
Ahead of the closure of the ballot today, Mr Murphy said that, on the back of more powers coming to Scotland, that change was coming and Labour once again had to become the driver of that change.
"The role of Scotland in the evolving story of the United Kingdom is remarkable," declared the former Scottish Secretary.
"For the second time in less than a year, the politics of the entire UK will rest in the hands of Scots. Just under three months ago Scotland decided whether the United Kingdom itself would continue to exist. By a convincing majority, Scots backed unity over division. On May 7 next year in the General Election, Scotland's votes will help to determine the politics of the UK for years to come.
"To paraphrase the Nationalists, it will be the UK's future in Scotland's hands. A Scottish electorate of just over four million people will again determine so much about the collection of nations that makes up the UK."
Noting how Labour "cannot afford to get this wrong," Mr Murphy said that despite the fragmentation of British politics, the election was still a two-horse race between Labour and the Tories.
"A vote for anybody but Labour in many Scottish constituencies makes it more likely that David Cameron would remain Prime Minister. Bluntly, all that the SNP's efforts will achieve will be to risk Labour being able to be big enough to replace Cameron," he added.
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