The void amongst Scottish Labour MPs after Douglas Alexander is made Scottish Secretary
None of the 37 Scottish Labour MPs had posted on social media to welcome the East Lothian MP to his new Cabinet role by midday on Tuesday despite Mr Alexander being appointed on Friday.
No Scottish Labour MPs had publicly welcomed Douglas Alexander as Scottish Secretary four days after being appointed, The Scotsman can reveal.
None of the 37 Scottish Labour MPs had posted on social media to welcome the East Lothian MP to his new Cabinet role by midday on Tuesday despite Mr Alexander being appointed on Friday.
But seven of them paid tribute to the outgoing Scottish Secretary Ian Murray.
After The Scotsman reported that no one had publicly welcomed Mr Alexander to the job, two MPs - Maureen Burke and Alison Taylor - posted on X to do so.
Mr Murray’s sacking has sparked a civil war in Scottish Labour. Some figures said he had been booted out for not coming to Scotland enough, while one MP blasted Mr Alexander for gunning for the job while Mr Murray was in office.
SNP MP Dave Doogan said: "Keir Starmer's disastrous first year in government has not only caused chaos across the UK, he has now clearly caused chaos in Scottish Labour too.
"The failure of Labour MPs to publicly welcome Douglas Alexander's appointment to the UK Cabinet points to the fact that all is not well in Scottish Labour. Keir Starmer's brutal removal of Ian Murray, with the reported blessing of Anas Sarwar, is a sore that is clearly going to fester in their ranks for a long time.
"Scottish Labour's infighting reveals a bigger truth. Since their 37 MPs were elected last year, they have failed to stand up for Scotland, so they have decided to start fighting amongst themselves.
"With chaos now a constant in Westminster, it is more important than ever that Scotland's people have the choice of a fresh start with independence."
Mr Murray, the Edinburgh South MP, was surprisingly dumped from the UK government on Friday as Sir Keir announced his first reshuffle since becoming Prime Minister.
The move sparked an uproar among Scottish Labour figures, with Mr Murray reappointed to government just a day later. However, he was given a more junior role as a culture minister.
Mr Murray was the single Scottish Labour MP to win a seat at the 2015 and 2019 general elections. He had served as shadow Scottish secretary for the entire time that Sir Keir was Leader of the Opposition.
Seven Scottish Labour MPs - Richard Baker, Torcuil Crichton, Graeme Downie, Gordon McKee, Chris Murray, Michael Shanks and Melanie Ward - posted on X to pay tribute to Mr Murray after his sacking.
Mr McKee had previously been Mr Murray’s political advisor. Mr Shanks served under him as shadow Scotland Office minister, while Ms Ward was his parliamentary private secretary.
A Scottish Labour source said: “Ian played a huge part in saving Scottish Labour from extinction and was a great Scottish Secretary. His new job leading on AI and tech policy is testament to his talent.
“Douglas is a highly experienced strategist and will help unify party and government efforts ahead of May 2026. Everyone in Scottish Labour, at Holyrood and Westminster, should welcome having both men in senior roles and get behind the campaign to end two decades of SNP failure.”
Mr Alexander has the most UK government experience of any Scottish Labour MP. He served as a minister for nine years between 2001 and 2010. He held three cabinet roles, including Scottish Secretary between 2006 and 2007.
Mr Alexander was the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South between 1997 and 2015, before losing his seat to the SNP’s Mhairi Black.
He returned as MP for Lothian East last year.
The Scotland Office was approached for comment.
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