Meet the men applying for the 'hardest job in British politics'

Meet the men applying for the 'hardest job in British politics' as Labour MSPs Michael Marra and Joe Fagan make their pitches to succeed Anas Sarwar.

Wanted: one leader for Scottish Labour. Must enjoy long hours, complex trade-offs and difficult questions.

Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are squaring off in the Scottish Labour leadership contest.

Labour MSPs Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are making their pitches as they aim to succeed Anas Sarwar.

Despite this health warning, two candidates are on the ballot paper vying to take on the challenge - Michael Marra and Joe Fagan.

I sat down with both of them for the Scotcast podcast to learn a bit about who they are, where they think Labour has gone wrong, and their prescription for fixing things.

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But before we got into the nitty gritty of politics, I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates.

We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be?

For Michael Marra, it was his beloved football team, Dundee United.

Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats, there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP backing lost causes.

Joe Fagan opted for a lecture on Cold War Berlin.

And there was even a comparison about the

Labour MSPs Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are making their pitches as they aim to succeed Anas Sarwar. Despite this health warning, two candidates are on the ballot paper vying to take on the challenge - Michael Marra and Joe Fagan.

Wanted: one leader for Scottish Labour. Must enjoy long hours, complex trade-offs and difficult questions.

Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are squaring off in the Scottish Labour leadership contest.

Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails.

But before we got into the nitty gritty of politics, I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates. We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be?

For Michael Marra, it was his beloved football team, Dundee United.

Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats, there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP backing lost causes.

Joe Fagan opted for a lecture on Cold War Berlin.

And there was even a comparison about the 'eerie resemblance' between Stasi HQ in East Germany and the office he occupied when he was the leader of South Lanarkshire Council.

Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails

But before we got into the nitty gritty of politics, I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates. We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be?

For Michael Marra, it was his beloved football team, Dundee United.

Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats, there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP backing lost causes.

Joe Fagan opted for a lecture on Cold War Berlin.

And there was even a comparison about the 'eerie resemblance' between Stasi HQ in East Germany and the office he occupied when he was the leader of South Lanarkshire Council.

Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails

But before we got into the nitty gritty of politics

Labour MSPs Michael Marra and Joe Fagan are making their pitches as they aim to succeed Anas Sarwar.

Despite this health warning, two candidates are on the ballot paper vying to take on the challenge - Michael Marra and Joe Fagan.

Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails.

But before we got into the nitty gritty of politics, I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates.

We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be?

For Michael Marra, it was his beloved football team, Dundee United. Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats, there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP backing lost causes.

Joe Fagan opted for a lecture on Cold War Berlin. And there was even a comparison about the 'eerie resemblance' between Stasi HQ in East Germany and the office he occupied when he was the leader of South Lanarkshire Council.

Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails but before we got into the nitty gritty of politics I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be For Michael Marra it was his beloved football team, Dundee United Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP backing lost causes

Joe Fagan opted for a lecture on Cold War Berlin And there was even a comparison about the 'eerie resemblance' between Stasi HQ in East Germany and the office he occupied when he was the leader of South Lanarkshire Council Lennon criticises 'nasty' Scottish Labour as leadership bid fails but before we got into the nitty gritty of politics I wanted to know a bit more about these two candidates We started with an ice-breaker: If they had to give a Ted Talk (an online lecture about a topic they're passionate about), what would their subject be For Michael Marra it was his beloved football team, Dundee United Given they've just endured back-to-back 4-0 defeats there's a joke here about the North East Labour MSP