Jim Murphy Resigns As Scottish Labour Leader And Has A Dig At Alex Salmond

Jim Murphy's Resignation Jibe At Alex Salmond Was Pretty Savage
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 07: Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Jim Murphy arrives at a polling station to cast his vote on May 7, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. People across Scotland have begun casting their votes in the UK general election, with fifty nine Scottish seats up for grabs. The United Kingdom has gone to the polls to vote for a new government in one of the most closely fought General Elections in recent history. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 07: Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Jim Murphy arrives at a polling station to cast his vote on May 7, 2015 in Glasgow, Scotland. People across Scotland have begun casting their votes in the UK general election, with fifty nine Scottish seats up for grabs. The United Kingdom has gone to the polls to vote for a new government in one of the most closely fought General Elections in recent history. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
Jeff J Mitchell via Getty Images

Jim Murphy has resigned as Scottish Labour leader.

The ousted former East Renfrewshire MP announced his intention to step down last month after the party was almost wiped out in Scotland at the general election.

He officially resigned at a press conference on Saturday in which he couldn't help having a dig at former SNP leader, Alex Salmond.

He said: "As Nicola Sturgeon is learning, very little good comes from a leader who steps down but doesn't shut up."

Ouch.

Murphy also reflected on the sound defeat Scottish Labour suffered at the hands of the SNP.

He said: "If anything good can come from such a painful defeat, it is that we are free to be bolder in our message, to reach further into the population for talent, and to renew our organisation to better reflect modern Scotland.

"The defeat was traumatic and so it is right that, today, we announce a set of changes that are dramatic."

He said last month the party remains divided, and said he intends to use his final month as leader to prepare the ground for his successor and leave behind a stronger party rather than leaving abruptly.

Labour had been crushed between "two nationalisms" in Scotland and England, he added.

He does not intend to stand for election to the Scottish Parliament as previously planned, saying: "It's time for me to do something else."

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