Scottish Labour has an opportunity to reflect on “deeper political questions” about how it operates after its loss in May’s election and the loss of its leader to the House of Lords, the Scottish Secretary has said. Just months after falling to just 17 seats at Holyrood, former Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar opted for a seat in the Lords and a junior ministerial job in Andy Burnham’s Government, sparking a leadership contest north of the border. As the party begins its search for a new leader, Douglas Alexander, who was the co-chair of the May election campaign, said there are “very searching questions” which need to be asked. “But I think it’s also an opportunity now to reflect on some deeper political questions about Scottish Labour’s place within devolved Scotland, how we are more effective in winning the support of the Scottish people in Holyrood.” “But we’ve done that before and very few people thought we would be able to see 37 Scottish Labour MPs elected and we played a big role in making sure that we banished the Tories after those 14 years and got Labour back into power.