Jim Murphy

The Right Honourable Jim Murphy
Official portrait, c. 2008
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
In office 13 December 2014 – 13 June 2015
Deputy	Kezia Dugdale
UK party leader	Ed Miliband Harriet Harman (Acting)
Holyrood leader	Kezia Dugdale
Preceded by	Johann Lamont
Succeeded by	Kezia Dugdale
Secretary of State for Scotland
In office 3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010
Prime Minister	Gordon Brown
Preceded by	Des Browne
Succeeded by	Danny Alexander
Shadow Cabinet posts Shadow Secretary of State for International Development In office 7 October 2013 – 2 November 2014 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Ivan Lewis Succeeded by Mary Creagh Shadow Secretary of State for Defence In office 8 October 2010 – 7 October 2013 Leader Ed Miliband Preceded by Bob Ainsworth Succeeded by Vernon Coaker Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland In office 11 May 2010 – 8 October 2010 Leader Harriet Harman (Acting) Preceded by David Mundell Succeeded by Ann McKechin
Junior ministerial offices Minister of State for Europe In office 28 June 2007 – 3 October 2008 Prime Minister Gordon Brown Preceded by Geoff Hoon Succeeded by Caroline Flint Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform In office 5 May 2006 – 28 June 2007 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Jane Kennedy Succeeded by Caroline Flint Minister for the Cabinet Office Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Acting 2 November 2005 – 5 May 2006 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by John Hutton Succeeded by Hilary Armstrong Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In office 13 June 2003 – 10 May 2005 Prime Minister Tony Blair Preceded by Ian Pearson Succeeded by Vernon Coaker
Further offices held Member of Parliament for East Renfrewshire Eastwood (1997–2005) In office 1 May 1997 – 30 March 2015 Preceded by Allan Stewart Succeeded by Kirsten Oswald 46th President of the National Union of Students In office 1994–1996 Preceded by Lorna Fitzsimons Succeeded by Douglas Trainer
Personal details
Born	James Francis Murphy (1967-08-23) 23 August 1967 (age 56) Glasgow, Scotland
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Claire Murphy
Children	3

James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Renfrewshire, formerly Eastwood, from 1997 to 2015. He identifies as a social democrat and has expressed support for a foreign policy of Western interventionism. He has been described as being on the political right of the Labour Party.

Born in Glasgow, Murphy's family moved to South Africa in 1980. After returning to Scotland, he became involved in student politics and became Scotland's youngest MP at the age of 29. Murphy served in the New Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown as Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office from 2005 to 2006, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform from 2006 to 2007 and Minister of State for Europe from 2007 to 2008. From 2008 to 2010, Murphy served in the Cabinet as Secretary of State for Scotland. After Labour lost the 2010 general election, Murphy served in Ed Miliband's Shadow cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Defence and Shadow Secretary of State for International Development.

Following Johann Lamont's resignation, Murphy was elected Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in the 2014 leadership election. He led Scottish Labour into the 2015 general election, in which he said, "I will not lose a single seat to the SNP" before the party lost 40 of its 41 seats during a landslide victory for the Scottish National Party (SNP), who won 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland. After surviving a vote of no confidence, Murphy announced in May 2015 he would step down as leader that June. The subsequent leadership contest was won by his deputy leader Kezia Dugdale.