Marra and Fagan to contest Scottish Labour leadership

Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon has branded the party "quite nasty" and accused it of having "a problem when it comes to trans people" after she failed to secure enough nominations to enter its leadership race.

Michael Marra and Joe Fagan met the threshold and will now take part in a month-long contest to replace Anas Sarwar as party leader.

Lennon later told BBC Scotland News that the party - which finished joint second with Reform in the Holyrood election - should be showing compassion and respect to trans people.

She added: "I don't know if we have any transgender members left in Scottish Labour. They're certainly not voting for us."

Sarwar triggered the contest last month after he announced his intention to stand down as both Scottish leader and MSP to join Andy Burnham's government .

His decision came after Labour's worst Holyrood election performance .

Party members and affiliated supporters will vote for his replacement between 28 August and 17 September.

Fagan said the leadership campaign was about "more than understanding what went wrong" for the party.

"It is about respecting work, backing our communities and giving working people real power over the future, not asking them simply to live with decisions made elsewhere."

Marra said he was "humbled" to be on the ballot and looked forward to a "good spirited and comradely contest".

He added: "The next leader of Scottish Labour has a huge task: to unite our party, rediscover our soul and reconnect with Scotland.

The North East Scotland MSP offered his commiserations to Lennon, who he described as "one of the most formidable and effective campaigners the Labour movement has".

In a statement Lennon called on the two candidates on the ballot to "do better" and said "punching down on trans people and other minorities is not acceptable".

Both Marra and South Scotland MSP Fagan have expressed scepticism about recent attempts by the Scottish Parliament to make it easier for an individual to change their legally recognised sex .