LISTEN: Jim Murphy Named Scottish Labour Leader

The Scottish Labour party has announced that Jim Murphy will be its new leader.

Mr Murphy, MP for East Renfrewshire, was elected with more than half of the vote, ahead of Holyrood health spokesman Neil Findlay and former Scottish Executive minister Sarah Boyack.

The leadership contest was sparked when Johann Lamont stood down suddenly, accusing colleagues in Westminster of treating Scotland like a branch office''.

Kezia Dugdale, MP for the Lothian region, was also elected asthe party's deputy leader.

Mr Murphy, a former Scottish secretary, picked up a total of 55.7% of the vote in the leadership contested, putting him ahead of nearest rival Mr Findlay, who secured 34.99% and Ms Boyack, who came in third with 9.24%.

Afterwards he said it was a remarkable honour''.

Mr Murphy, addressing Labour party members at the Glasgow Emirates Arena, declared: This is a fresh start for Scottish Labour.

Scotland is changing and so too must Scottish Labour. I'm ambitious for our party because I'm ambitious for our country.''

He stressed the need to unite'' Scotland, saying it wasone country but two nations''.

But he said the divide was not between those who supported independence and those who wanted Scotland to stay in the UK, but was instead between the haves and have nots in society

Scots are divided not by the referendum but by circumstances,'' Mr Murphy said.

The majority are fulfilled, getting on, getting by, being successful.

A minority are falling behind, denied opportunity, trapped,unable to escape the hardship of their upbringing.

That inequality is wrong and it is my driving purpose, it is our driving purpose, it is the Scottish Labour Party's driving purpose to end that type of inequality once and for all.''

Mr Murphy said the best way to tackle poverty was to boost the economy.

He argued: The most effective anti poverty measure is a successful economy.

It's about backing businesses, it's about creating jobs, because if redistribution is our aim, which it is, then we need more wealth not less. We want more entrepreneurs, not fewer. A growing middle class that more families are able to join.

The debate about how we spend our wealth starts with how we earn it.''

He also made a direct appeal to those who had voted for independence in September's referendum to back his party, saying he had more in common with the values of the many hundreds of thousands who voted Yes in the referendum than with many of the political leaders who campaigned for No''.

He added: We share a commitment to a fairer Scotland, we share a commitment to social justice, we share a sense of values.

Yes, we disagreed on one vote on one day but we should't allow that to divide our nation.

We should allow Yes and No to unite us - yes to a fairer Scotland, yes to a Scotland of limitless potential and no to a Scotland of generation inequality.

That is our challenge, that is our mission.''

With new powers coming to the Scottish Parliament in the wake of the independence vote, Mr Murphy said there were no excuses now''.

He insisted: We have the power, the question is do we have the purpose? Powers in themselves are trophies to be squabbled over by politicians if they are not used.

I want to be clear that the Scottish Labour Party will use those new powers that are coming to the Scottish Parliament, use those powers for fairness, for opportunity and an end to poverty, so that no child is excluded from our society.''