Kezia Dugdale vows to revolutionise Labour

Kezia Dugdale has been elected the new Scottish Labour leader after defeating the Holyrood veteran Ken Macintosh.

Former leader Jim Murphy quit as leader after just six months in the role, after losing his own seat – and the party toda selected his replacement.

Mr Macintosh, the MSP for Eastwood, has suggested that he is the “challenger” in the contest, up against the “party machine” he says backs Ms Dugdale.

Speaking as the campaign entered its final stages, Ms Dugdale, who served as Mr Murphy’s deputy, said the job of “rebuilding trust” in Scottish Labour would start straight away under her leadership.

Ms Dugdale, 33, was elected as an MSP for the Lothian region in 2011, and rapidly marked herself out as one of the rising stars within her party.

“If I am elected tomorrow I’ll work night and day to renew the Scottish Labour Party so that we meet the hopes and aspirations of all Scots”.

Some 21,000 party supporters were eligable to vote in the election.

“Above all, my message to undecided members is simple: I’m asking for your support as I believe I have the ideas, the vision and the determination to help Labour win again”.

She becomes leader after just four years as an MSP.

The 53-year-old added: “I want to transform the Scottish Labour Party into a positive force for real change in Scotland”.

“I am not so presumptuous to ask instantly for your vote”.

“However, a change of leader alone will not solve the deep, deep problems which the Labour Party in Scotland now faces”.

Labour has also lost the last two Holyrood elections to the SNP.

“Firstly, a large part of the population have simply switched off from us”, she said. “Under my leadership there will be no doubt what we stand for and who we stand with”. “Because for too many people in Scotland their ability to get on in life isn’t determined by their talent, hard work and ambition, but by the circumstances they were born into”, she said.