Murphy named new leader of Scottish Labour Party

The opposition Labour party has chosen former cabinet minister Jim Murphy as its leader in Scotland where he will have the job of trying to hold on to the seats the party needs to win a British national election due in May.

The former Secretary of State for Scotland, who won 55 per cent of the vote, needs to rejuvenate the Scottish Labour party which faces a tough challenge from nationalists who could potentially derail Labour's chances of winning a majority in the polls next year.

Murphy, who was the favourite to win, became well-known for his soap box brand of pro-union patriotism during September's referendum on independence.

His public profile rose when he toured 100 Scottish towns, hosting debates standing on top of a crate of Irn-Bru, the orange fizzy drink popularly referred to as "Scotland's other national drink".

Speaking after the result, Murphy tried to reach out to the 45 per cent who had backed the Scottish National Party's campaign for independence from Britain, which included many Labour supporters tempted away by the nationalists.

"I and the Scottish Labour Party share so much more in common with ... (the) values of those many hundreds of thousands who voted 'yes' in the referendum than we do with many of the political leaders who campaigned for 'no'," he said.