SCOTTISH LIB DEMS CHOOSE NEW LEADER

Mr Scott secured 59% of the vote when the result was announced by the party, comfortably outpacing rivals Ross Finnie and Mike Rumbles.

The post fell vacant when Nicol Stephen stood down last month for family reasons.

Mr Scott's victory came on first-preference votes.

The 59% margin easily surpassed the requirement to win outright. The successful candidate had to achieve 50% of the votes plus one.

He said: "Can I thank the party for this, the gold medal of the Liberal Democrats Olympics."

The result was announced at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh in front of an audience of MPs, MSPs and party activists.

Ross Finnie achieved 23.1% of the vote, and Mike Rumbles 17.9%.

In numbers, Mr Scott secured 1,450 votes to Mr Finnie's 568 and Mr Rumbles's 439.

UK Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said: "I am delighted that Tavish Scott has been chosen as the new leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats. He will bring energy and enthusiasm to the role, taking the fight to the SNP and Labour right across Scotland."