Richard Leonard was elected as the leader of the Scottish Labour Party in 2017 when he defeated Anas Sarwar to win with 56.7% of the vote.

[2] A motion of no confidence in Leonard was proposed at the party's SEC (Scottish Executive Committee) but withdrawn due to a lack of support.

[4][5] On 16 January, the Scottish Labour Executive Committee met and approved the procedure and timetable for the leadership election.

In the article, he called for modernisation and professionalism in campaigning and set his agenda focusing on "poverty, inequality, schools, health and jobs.

"[13] On 2 February, Lennon laid out her vision on ending child poverty within a decade which was published in the Daily Record.

[15] On 10 February, Lennon called for increased investment into broadband, claiming that her plan would improve productivity and innovation as well as generating More high skilled jobs.

Additionally she advocated for a 'bottom-up' approach to Labour's plans for devolution compared to the constitution commission established by the Leader of the National Party Keir Starmer.

[18] Lennon wrote an op-ed in Pink News, in which she voiced her support for reforming the Gender Recognition Act and criticised the SNP government for not doing it already.