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JIM Murphy says he will stand for First Minister in the next Scottish Parliament even if he loses in the upcoming general election.

The defiant Scottish Labour leader’s party is facing the prospect of a near wipe out in the May 7 elections.

And polls suggest he may suffer a defeat in his East Renfrewshire seat to the SNP only five months after being elected the Scottish Labour leader.

Murphy, who was the Secretary of State for Scotland between 2008 and 2010, was ahead in the polls in February, but polls suggest the SNP have turned that into a ten-point advantage in the last two months.

The SNP won less than 10 per cent of the vote in 2010 in the seat while Labour picked up 51 per cent, but SNP candidate Kirsten Oswald could cause a massive upset by ousting Murphy.

poll loading Is Jim Murphy right to stand for First Minister if the electorate don't want him? 1000+ VOTES SO FAR YES NO

Grilled on radio yesterday about whether he would stand as First Minister as he lost his seat, he said: “This isn’t about my job, but, yes, I will stand for First Minister, absolutely.”

Oswald said: “The fact that Jim Murphy has even had to clarify this is an indication that Labour’s campaign is going from bad to worse.

“Polls continue to show the SNP with a strong lead, while also showing that Jim Murphy’s personal popularity rating has slumped to minus 21, but we are taking absolutely nothing for granted.

“We will continue to work hard to win the trust of people to make East Renfrewshire and Scotland stronger at Westminster.”

Murphy said the SNP “plan to use this General Election to stoke up discontent and division so they can push for a second referendum”.

“They would consign Scotland to years of deepening division while the needs and priorities of working-class Scots are set aside for another day, another year or indeed another generation,” he told an audience of Labour Party activists in Glasgow.