Unite launches bid to trigger only Scottish Labour MP elected in 2015
2 min read
Unite is attempting to boot out the only Scottish Labour MP elected in 2015, it has emerged.
The powerful union voted to "trigger" Ian Murray in a vote in his Edinburgh South constituency on Tuesday night.
If they are successful, Mr Murray - who also has the biggest Labour majority in Scotland - will have to go through a full reselection process to be able to stand as a candidate at the next election.
The former Shadow Scottish Secretary, who has been an outspoken critic of Jeremy Corbyn, said: "It is disappointing that in the week where I’m leading the People’s Vote campaign in Scotland and working around the clock to maintain the cross-party coalition that's defeating Boris Johnson disastrous Brexit in order to protect workers' jobs and rights, that this is Unite's priority.
"My constituents are my priority and I won't be distracted from fighting for them."
Mr Murray was the only Labour candidate to survive the SNP tsunami in 2015, winning Edinburgh South by 2,637 seats from the nationalists.
He increased that majority to more than 15,000 two years later as a mini-revival saw Labour return seven Scottish MPs.
He was one of a wave of frontbenchers who quit their posts in the wake of the 2016 EU referendum.
Under Labour party rules, if either one-third or more of party branches, or at least on-third of affiliated branches indicate they wish a full selection to take place, the sitting MP is triggered.
They then have to stand against rival candidates for the right to stand at a general election.
Labour members in Edinburgh South will be voting in their branches on Thursday night on whether to trigger a full reselection contest in the seat.
Several Labour MPs have already been triggered by their local parties, although some thought to be top targets for the process have survived.
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