Scottish Labour is facing a summer of feuding following the surprise resignation of Wendy Alexander yesterday, with the campaign to replace her expected to be dominated by the question of an independence referendum.

Supporters of Andy Kerr and Iain Gray, the frontrunners to succeed her who are expected to announce their candidacy for the post this week, wasted no time in trading insults and arguments yesterday. Margaret Curran, the party’s health spokeswoman, is also expected to stand.

Alexander quit after just 10 months as leader, blaming the SNP for a politically driven plot to oust her from office.

It followed a decision by Holyrood’s standards committee on Thursday to suspend her from the parliament for one day for failing to declare donations to her leadership campaign.

She said that the issue was acting as a distraction from more important issues and, despite an appeal by Gordon Brown for her to stay, she announced that she was stepping down.

Speaking at Scottish Labour’s Glasgow headquarters, she said: “My pursuers have sought the prize of political victory with little thought to the standing of the parliament.

“Some may feel they have achieved a political victory, but wiser heads will surely question at what price?”

Within hours of her resignation, rivals were already positioning themselves with the question of a poll on separatism foremost on their minds.

Kerr, the former health minister, installed yesterday as 1-4 favourite for the job, made it clear through friends that, under his leadership, Labour MSPs would support a referendum bill in parliament.

“The SNP have cleverly tried to damage us by suggesting we want to deny people a say,” said a source close to him.

“Andy wouldn’t handle things in the same way as Wendy — he wouldn’t do what Wendy did and talk about bringing forward his own bill on a referendum — but he doesn’t want to be seen to be standing in the way of it so you can expect him to support it in a vote in parliament.”

Gray, the party’s finance spokesman under Alexander, has told friends he would seek to block a poll.

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