Gordon Brown has backed former MP Douglas Alexander in his bid to return to frontline politics at Westminster.
The former Prime Minister praised his ally’s “tireless commitment” to Scotland and “dedication” to ending poverty.
He also endorsed Kirsty McNeill, who was a special adviser to Brown in Downing Street, to become an MP.
Labour are in the process of selecting candidates for a general election the party hopes will lead to the toppling of the Conservatives.
Seats are being twinned by gender as a way of trying to have an equal balance of male and female MPs.
The East Lothian and Midlothian seats have been paired and Alexander, an MP in Paisley between 1997 and 2005 who served in the Cabinet, is eyeing a comeback.
His email to members contains an endorsement by Brown, who is considered his political mentor:
“In the decades that I’ve worked with Douglas, I’ve seen at first hand his tireless commitment to Scotland, his dedication to ending poverty at home and his great work for social justice abroad.
“This, his prodigious work rate, and the qualities that made him excel as a highly praised Cabinet Minister at the centre of the Labour Government – heading Transport, the Scotland Office, and International Development – demonstrate why he will make a great local MP.”
Alexander’s pitch states: “I want to play my part in securing a Labour Government, to replace the moral and economic failure of 12 years of Tory chaos and self-interest.
"The Conservatives’ only answer to their own failure is to propose further anti trade union legislation: together we must stop them. They’re not fit for government. We need to work to ensure Keir Starmer becomes Prime Minister and Anas Sarwar, First Minister.”
Brown wrote of McNeill: “Kirsty McNeill is an outstandingly effective local and national campaigner. I had the pleasure of working with her in Downing Street and since and I know she’s full of ideas about the future and totally committed to social justice and bringing an end to poverty.
“With all her experience of government and her dedication to Scotland, combined with her expertise built nationally and on the world stage as a charity leader, I know she will make a great local MP.”
As well as McNeill and Alexander, two other candidates are in the running, namely Katherine Sangster and Dan Sharp.
Sangster, national manager for the Scottish Fabians, told members in her email: “People are desperate for change but for too long the Labour Party has been relegated to opposition.
“Those of us who have knocked doors, delivered leaflets and stood as candidates in the last ten years in Scotland know the challenges we have faced getting our party fighting fit. Now with public services on their knees and living standards plummeting a transformative Labour government is more essential than ever.”
She also talked up her local credentials by saying she was born and brought up in the Lothians.
Sharp wrote: ”Keir and Anas are rightly setting out our national policy priorities to deliver a fairer, greener future. But we need to translate those priorities into local pledges. Focusing on local impact, with a local candidate, we can bring new and returning voters with us – offering a fresh alternative to the broken promises of the Tories and SNP.”
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