Scottish Labour leader LightningMinion released the following statement following his election as First Minister:

I have just now been elected as the new First Minister of Scotland by the Scottish Parliament. It is an honour to be able to lead Scotland again, and I am committed to using my powers as First Minister to deliver a Future For All, as promised in the election campaign and as agreed to in negotiations with our coalition partner, Forward.

Scottish Labour’s election campaign focused on building a future for all by fixing the housing crisis so that everyone in Scotland can afford to have a roof over their head, on tackling the climate crisis to safeguard our planet for future generations, and on improving our public services so that they work for all who need them. Our message resonated with voters, with Scottish Labour seeing the biggest gains in the election: our vote share increased by 15%, and 19 more members of the Scottish Parliament belong to the Scottish Labour Party compared to before the election. I would like to thank party members, volunteers and activists for their hard work over the election campaign, and would like to thank voters for putting their trust in us and our manifesto to build a future for all.

I would also like to thank Forward’s leadership and MSPs for choosing to back Scottish Labour, and I am excited to get to work with them to deliver on our agreed agenda.

Scottish Labour decided to enter a coalition with Forward after coalition negotiations with both Forward and the SNP. Both sets of talks were productive and led to coalition deals, and the deal with Forward was ultimately chosen by the party. The SNP will subsequently be the largest opposition party to my government; but, as First Minister, I will be open to cooperating with them on shared issues, just as I did last term with the SNP government when Scottish Labour was in opposition.

The new government I will be leading will be dedicated to building a future for all. We will be dedicated to boosting the construction of affordable housing, improving the rights of tenants, and tackling homelessness. We will be dedicated to tackling the climate crisis, investing in reaching net zero, and improving Scotland’s public transport network. We will be dedicated to reducing waiting lists for healthcare, reforming the education system, and building a fairer justice system. I am excited to get to work on implementing Scottish Labour’s and Forward’s plans.