Ian Murray sacked as Scottish Secretary in Keir Starmer reshuffle

Ian Murray MP has lost his role as Secretary of State for Scotland to Labour grandee Douglas Alexander.

The Edinburgh South MP – a key ally of Anas Sarwar – was once Labour’s only Scottish MP and was rewarded with the Scotland Office job after the party’s general election win.

Now he has been removed from the role in a government reshuffle prompted by the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner.

In the process, Starmer has moved East Lothian MP Alexander, who re-entered Westminster last year, from his trade role to become head of the Scotland Office.

Murray, a former publican, was elected in 2010 and has led the Starmer administration's efforts to rebalance the relationship between Westminster and Holyrood.

In a statement, he said he is "hugely disappointed" and vowed to continue working to help his "friend" Anas Sarwar enter Bute House in 2026.

Murray said: "After the dreadful legacy from the previous goverment, there is a lot more to work to do and I will continue to make sure more jobs and opportunities come to Scotland from the backbenches, from where Keir Starmer and the government will have my full support."

Starmer is today reorganising his team after Rayner quit as DPM, having failed to pay sufficient stamp duty on a flat she purchased in the East Sussex town of Hove.

She had been under sustained pressure to go after initially claiming she had taken advice on the transaction. 

Today she said she took “full responsibility” for her “error”, with the comments following a report from the ethics adviser which found she had breached the ministerial code and “did not heed the caution” in the legal advice she had received.

Earlier this week, Starmer made former junior Treasury minister Darren Jones his chief secretary as part of a Downing Street reset.

Now his hand has been forced to make more changes, with Lucy Powell, leader of the House of Commons, also removed from post. David Lammy has been promoted to deputy prime minister and Yvette Cooper is to be the new foreign secretary, with Shabana Mahmood succeeding her as home secretary.

In his statement, Murray said it had been "a privilege to play a pivotal role in bringing Labour back to power in Westminster" and described becoming Scottish secretary as "the honour of [his] life".

He said: "Over the past year I have worked tirelessly with my wonderful political and civil service team at the Scotland Office, to put Scotland at the heart of this UK Government. Together, we have already delivered so much for Scotland.

"I am really proud of what we have achieved from the £10bn frigate deal with Norway, the UK supercomputer at the University of Edinburgh, the largest budget settlement in the history of devolution, GB Energy in Aberdeen, saving the Harland & Wolff yards, our Brand Scotland campaign, and putting the Scotland Office back into the service of ordinary working Scots."

Murray went on: "I will remain as impatient for change as the public. Politics in the UK, and elsewhere, now is at a dangerous crossroads. It is the responsibility of us all in public life to make an argument for progressive change that brings prosperity, hope and our communities together, rather than furthering division and despair.

"And after almost two decades of SNP failure, Scotland desperately needs a new direction at Holyrood and I will continue doing all I can to help make my friend Anas Sarwar our next first minister."

Thanking junior Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill and Melanie Ward MP for their support, Murray said: "I wish my former cabinet colleagues, and those now joining, well. Every single one of them are in politics for the right reasons and are good people who I am certain will do great things for our country.

"Lastly, I will forever be proud of having helped deliver 37 Scottish Labour MPs last year. I have always felt a responsibility, having been the sole Scottish Labour MP for so long, to bring on and nurture the next generation of elected politicians and staff. I hope that has left a legacy that will thrive in years to come."

Labour peer Lord George Foulkes tweeted: "If it is true that Ian Murray MP has been sacked as Secretary of State for Scotland it is a disgraceful decision. He held the fort well as shadow secretary through the lean years and has been a brilliant secretary of state."

SNP Scotland spokesperson Stephen Gethins MP said: "Ian Murray’s sacking is the latest sign of Labour Party acrimony. It is no wonder they have slumped 20 points behind the SNP in Scotland, when they are fighting like rats in a sack while failing to lift a finger to help families."

He added: "On a personal level, I wish Ian Murray well for the future."