Jim Murphy yesterday announced he intends to stand down as Scottish Labour Party leader next month, after narrowly surviving a vote. Murphy said he will present a list of suggested reforms to be made to the party, including changing the system for electing party leader to , upon offering his resignation at the next meeting of its national executive in June. Murphy also said he will not stand for the  and will "do something else". Jim Murphy in 2009. There was controversy regarding whether Murphy should retain his role following this performance. Labour Party supporters were reportedly asked to sign a letter supporting Murphy's leadership, to be presented at the executive meeting yesterday. Calls for Murphy to resign came from multiple quarters, including trade unions and , as well as Labour s and . Earlier in the week, Unite general secretary said "the anti-Scottish card that was played by and the Conservatives" had caused them to win a majority in the general election, before going on to say: "I lay the blame for that very squarely at the feet of Scottish Labour. Not only have they lost Scotland but I think they've been responsible for making certain that the Conservatives were back in power in ." However, trade unions and were amongst those supporting Murphy's continued leadership. Scottish Green Party co-convenor was more critical in his response, arguing the Greens should be the opposition of the Scottish Parliament instead. Harvie said Murphy's resignation was "almost inevitable, but even as he announced it he promised to further weaken Labour’s relationship with the wider labour movement. People haven’t left Labour because of the trade unions, but because the party itself long ago strayed from its principles. Without a clear sense of purpose, it has seemed to care only about holding office instead of creating new ideas for a better society. It’s clear that the Scottish Parliament needs an opposition that’s creative and challenging, but which can act constructively too."
Jim Murphy yesterday announced he intends to stand down as Scottish Labour Party leader next month, after narrowly surviving a vote. Murphy said he will present a list of suggested reforms to be made to the party, including changing the system for electing party leader to , upon offering his resignation at the next meeting of its national executive in June. Murphy also said he will not stand for the Scottish Parliament and will "do something else". Jim Murphy in 2009. There was controversy regarding whether Murphy should retain his role following this performance. Labour Party supporters were reportedly asked to sign a letter supporting Murphy's leadership, to be presented at the executive meeting yesterday. Calls for Murphy to resign came from multiple quarters, including trade unions and , as well as Labour MSPs and . Earlier in the week, Unite general secretary said "the anti-Scottish card that was played by and the Conservatives" had caused them to win a majority in the general election, before going on to say: "I lay the blame for that very squarely at the feet of Scottish Labour. Not only have they lost Scotland but I think they've been responsible for making certain that the Conservatives were back in power in ." However, trade unions and were amongst those supporting Murphy's continued leadership. Scottish Green Party was more critical in his response, arguing the Greens should be the opposition of the Scottish Parliament instead. Harvie said Murphy's resignation was "almost inevitable, but even as he announced it he promised to further weaken Labour’s relationship with the wider labour movement. People haven’t left Labour because of the trade unions, but because the party itself long ago strayed from its principles. Without a clear sense of purpose, it has seemed to care only about holding office instead of creating new ideas for a better society. It’s clear that the Scottish Parliament needs an opposition that’s creative and challenging, but which can act constructively too."
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Scottish Parliament
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s
MSPs
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co-convenor