Kezia Dugdale has been elected leader of Scottish Labour with 72.1 per cent of the vote, against her rival Ken McIntosh with 27.9 per cent.
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The contest followed the resignation of former MP Jim Murphy shortly after the General Election.
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.
Dugdale becomes the eighth leader of the Labour group at Scotsman, who returned 56 of Scotland’s 59 MPs and are now polling at 60% for next year’s Scottish election.
The party’s new deputy will also be announced, with Richard Baker, Alex Rowley and Gordon Matheson vying for the role.
“I know that the past few months have been incredibly hard for Labour members across the country”, she said. “All I ask is that you take a fresh look at the Scottish Labour party under my leadership”, she added.
Speaking as the campaign entered its final stages, Ms Dugdale said the job of “rebuilding trust” in Scottish Labour would start straight away under her leadership.
The leader and deputy leader will be elected under a one-member-one-vote system after reforms to the election process were brought forward by Mr Murphy. “We are changing. I am part of a new generation”.
“However, a change of leader alone will not solve the deep, deep problems which the Labour Party in Scotland now faces”.
Responding to the result, Ms Dugdale promised to work “night and day” to restore her party’s popularity in Scotland.
“Secondly, those who are willing to give us a hearing say that they don’t know what we stand for any more”.
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Next month will see the results of a UK leadership contest, which has confounded expectations with the left-winger Jeremy Corbyn emerging as the surprise favourite against Yvette Cooper, Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall.
