Faced with possible parliamentary, police and Inland Revenue investigations into the conduct of his office affairs, Mr Henry McLeish bowed to the inevitable yesterday and resigned as Scotland's First Minister. And the current Education Minister, Mr Jack McConnell (40), emerged quickly as favourite to become Labour leader and Scotland's third First Minister in as many years.
Mr McConnell lost to Mr McLeish in the leadership battle in October last year to fill the vacancy caused by the death of the original First Minister, Mr Donald Dewar. His chances of the succession were further boosted last night by an assurance from Mr Robin Cook, Leader of the House of Commons, that he would not be seeking to replace Mr McLeish after a resignation Labour ministers in London insisted had not damaged devolution.
Assured the backing of Labour and Liberal Democrat MSPs, Mr McLeish had seemed set to defeat a "no confidence" move by the Conservatives and Scottish Nationalists at yesterday's sitting of the Scottish Parliament. However, Mr McLeish's position had become untenable following his offer on Monday to pay back £36,000 claimed as expenses over a 14- year period as MP for Central Fife. While there has been no suggestion that he personally benefited, Mr McLeish was brought low by his admission that he had claimed that amount to cover the costs of his constituency office in Glenrothes but had not declared income received as rent for half the office sub-let to several tenants during the same period. That additional income, which should have been declared in the Register of Members interests at the Commons, went to Mr McLeish's constituency party.
In a dignified four-minute statement to the Scottish Parliament, Mr McLeish accepted full and sole responsibility for "mistakes" he had made and for the resulting political controversy over what he previously termed "a muddle, not a fiddle". On the worst day of his political life, Mr McLeish - who quit his Westminster seat at the general election - spoke of his pride at having served as First Minister, and his greater pride that Labour had "led on devolution" and "delivered on devolution." And before he hastily departed the chamber, the Presiding Officer, Sir David Steel, thanked Mr McLeish for the statement he had made in the interests of the parliament. However while his main political adversaries praised him for taking the "honourable" course and not prolonging the affair, one Scottish National Party MSP questioned if Mr McLeish was entitled to "the benefit of the doubt" for a mistake repeated over a 14-year period.
And the Scottish Socialist MSP, Mr Tommy Sheridan, demanded that Mr McLeish should quit the parliament as well. "Henry McLeish feels compelled enough to resign from Scotland's top post," he said: "If he is not good enough to be First Minister, then is he good enough to be an MSP ? He has lost the trust of the Scottish people." Mr Jim Wallace, the Deputy First Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Labour's coalition partners at Holyrood, takes over as First Minister pending the election of the new Labour leader.