McConnell poised to lead Scotland

Henry McLeish resigned as his party's leader and First Minister

EDINBURGH, Scotland -- Scotland's ruling Labour Party has chosen a successor after its leader was forced to resign over an office expenses scandal.

Education Minister Jack McConnell was named party leader on Saturday following the resignation earlier this month of Henry McLeish.

McConnell, who has admitted to an extra-marital affair several years ago, was elected unopposed with the support of more than 97 percent of Labor legislators.

He is now expected to be confirmed as Scotland's First Minister on Thursday.

McConnell said he was "deeply honoured" to have won the backing of his party and vowed to do all he could to improve the lives of ordinary Scots.

But he insisted that the Labour-led Scottish Executive would not change its position on controversial issues such as private involvement in public services, proportional representation for local government elections and financial independence for the Scottish Parliament.

McConnell replaces McLeish, who resigned as party leader and First Minister on November 8 because of an expense account scandal that had dogged him for eight months.

McLeish, an ally of UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, helped prepare the framework for Scotland's first parliament in 300 years after voters approved its creation.

Under the parliamentary system, the leader of the party with the most seats -- in this case Labour -- becomes parliament leader, or first minister.

"Scotland's first minister must lead a Scottish Parliament that is worthy of the pride and confidence of the people of Scotland," McConnell said.

"I am determined to exercise that leadership in a style that respects the great democratic traditions of Scotland."

Helen Liddell, the British government's senior official for Scotland, said she looked forward to working with McConnell in his new role.

"As first minister, it's clear that he and I will work together to deliver for the people of Scotland the social justice they deserve," she said.

But Scottish National Party leader John Swinney attacked McConnell's election as a "bleak day for democracy."

He also said that the failure of any Scottish Cabinet members to back McConnell's nomination had left him without a mandate to lead his party or the country.

Swinney added: "The SNP and the Scottish Parliament, as the demise of Henry McLeish displayed, will not allow Labour to continue to treat Scotland as their private playground, where they have complete freedom to appoint Labour supporters into positions of power.

"Scotland has changed for the better with the introduction of a democratic parliament, but Labour has failed to change with it, and are finding it decidedly difficult to meet the standards our new democracy demands."