Unions back Scottish Labour leadership rivals

Jim Murphy has the support of shop-workers union Usdaw. Picture: Toby Williams

Shop-workers union Usdaw has backed former Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy, while the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is backing Holyrood health spokesman Neil Findlay. Former transport minister Sarah Boyack is also in the running to replace Johann Lamont.

The Usdaw endorsement comes as a boost to Mr Murphy, with Mr Findlay having so far attracted the backing of most major unions, such as Unison and the GMB.

Mr Murphy said: “I am proud to have received the support of Usdaw, my own trade union, which represents thousands of shop workers across Scotland.

“One of my key priorities is to support people in low-paid jobs get the wage rise they deserve. I am confident that I will win support from the thousands of trade union and Scottish Labour Party members across the country.”

Mr Findlay is broadly seen as the left-wing candidate and is widely expected to get the “union vote” in the party’s three-way electoral college. Mr Murphy has the support of most parliamentarians. It means the third element of the party’s electoral college, the membership, will be crucial.

Mr Findlay said yesterday: “I’m obviously delighted to have the support of the CWU. We have a shared agenda of standing up for working people and I look forward to working with them in the future.”