The shadow Scottish secretary post in Jeremy Corbyn’s chaotic shadow cabinet remains unfilled after Labour’s only MP quit.
The UK Labour leader has replaced most of those who have resigned in the last two days over his “lacklustre” premiership.
But he faces a major headache over who to appoint as shadow Scottish secretary because there are no other Labour MPs who hold a seat north of the border.
Ian Murray, the Edinburgh South MP, is one of a string of senior Labour politicians who have resigned. More than half have quit but Mr Corbyn has said he will remain as leader.
Mr Murray, who quit on Sunday, said: “He (Mr Corbyn) is a decent human being, a lovely man who I got on incredibly well with, but he just can’t lead the Labour Party and I don’t think the public think he could be prime minister.”
Mr Corbyn called for unity in the Commons yesterday saying voters will be turned off by plotters “indulging” in “factional manoeuvring”. He was referring to rebels on his side of the bench as well as the Tory in-fighting over their next leader.
An SNP spokesman said the lack of a replacement at Mr Corbyn’s disposal and Scottish Secretary David Mundell’s refusal to support Boris Johnson as a future Tory Prime Minister epitomised the shambles of Westminster’s two largest parties.
“It was slim pickings to begin with, but with the Secretary of State for Scotland ruling out serving under the man tipped to be the next Prime Minister and Scotland’s only Labour MP resigning from the shadow cabinet it’s clear neither party has a plan or is capable of representing Scotland’s interests,” he said.