the first of the post-referendum era. "When the First Minister is long gone I will still be doing my job on behalf of the people of Scotland." Her position remained uncertain. Alan Cochrane wrote that many Labour MPs in Scotland feared losing their seats at the 2015 general election without a change of leadership. In October, two former first ministers voiced their concern about the direction of the party. McConnell expressed fears that Labour would experience increased difficulty in regaining the confidence of Scottish voters following the election of Sturgeon as SNP leader, and described the party as "a political machine that is angry about what has happened in Scotland in the recent past". Shortly afterwards, his predecessor, Henry McLeish suggested Labour had ceded "enormous ground to the SNP unnecessarily" because its supporters no longer understood "what the party stands for". Margaret Curran, the Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, said that although the party was changing, it needed to reconnect with its "socialist principles". Lamont's resignation as Labour leader was reported by media outlets on the evening of 24 October 2014, following the publication of an interview with the Daily Record in which she announced her intention to step down with immediate effect. She told the newspaper that she was resigning because Labour's Westminster leadership had undermined her attempts to reform the party in Scotland, and treated Scottish Labour "like a branch office of London." She described some London-based colleagues as "dinosaurs" unable to understand that "Scotland has changed forever" following the referendum. Lamont was also angry that she had not been consulted on some matters, such as a decision by the UK leadership to replace Ian Price as Scottish Labour's General Secretary. In her letter of resignation, submitted to Scottish Labour Party Chairman Jamie Glackin, Lamont accused "senior members of the party" of questioning her role and said that she was taking herself "out of the equation" to allow Scottish Labour to have a discussion about the best way forward. Anas Sarwar became Labour's acting leader. On 26 October, following a meeting of the party's executive committee, he outlined the details of a leadership election, which would be held using the three-tier electoral college, and conclude with the announcement of a new leader on 13 December. Murphy, Boyack and Neil Findlay stood in the subsequent contest, with Murphy elected as Lamont's successor. Lamont did not vote for Murphy