Gordon Brown publicly confirms his vote for new leader of Scottish Labour Party

Ballots are open for members to vote for their preferred candidate, with an announcement expected to be made on 27 February.

Mr Brown published a tweet confirming he has voted for Anas Sarwar on Monday afternoon.

His full message read: “Congratulations to Anas Sarwar and Monica Lennon for their spirited Scottish Labour leadership campaigns in difficult circumstances.

"I have voted for Anas Sarwar as the candidate with both the experience and the new ideas to take us forward.”

The winner will be charged with recovering the image of a party which has struggled at the polls in recent years.

Ms Lennon described the party as “a bit broken” while Sarwar distanced himself from the previous leader, stating “I wasn’t part of the continuity of the last few years.”

Former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard departed in January this year.

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