HELENSBURGH and Lomond's MSP has become the interim leader of Scottish Labour after the resignation of Richard Leonard on Thursday.
Jackie Baillie steps up on a temporary basis after Mr Leonard announced he was quitting with immediate effect less than four months before the next Scottish Parliament election.
Ms Baillie has been Scottish Labour's deputy leader since last April, when she defeated Glasgow councillor Matt Kerr in a ballot of party members, affiliated supporters and registered supporters.
Mr Leonard had previously insisted he would lead the party into May's Holyrood poll in spite of damaging calls from some Labour MSPs for him to quit.
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Announcing his resignation on Thursday, Mr Leonard said: "I have thought long and hard over the Christmas period about what this crisis means, and the approach Scottish Labour takes to help tackle it.
"I have also considered what the speculation about my leadership does to our ability to get Labour's message across. This has become a distraction.
"I have come to the conclusion it is in the best interests of the party that I step aside as leader of Scottish Labour with immediate effect.
"This was not an easy decision, but after three years I feel it is the right one for me and for the party."
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He thanked those who had worked with him, saying the experience of leading the party "will live with me forever".
The internal contest for the Scottish Labour deputy leadership was triggered after previous deputy Lesley Laird lost her Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath seat to the SNP in the UK general election in December 2019.
Ms Baillie, who is also the party's finance spokesperson at Holyrood, has represented the Dumbarton constituency since the first Scottish Parliament election in 1999.
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