Anas Sarwar’s chief of staff has been named as Scottish Labour’s new general secretary.

Kate Watson will be in charge of the party’s administration and sit on the governing Scottish executive committee.

The general secretary is responsible for running the party’s administration including legal affairs, staff management, campaigns, conferences and liaising with the UK party. The postholder is also the registered treasurer and manages the party’s financial accounts. Watson will also be expected to coordinate the production of all Scottish policy documents, manifestos and research briefings.

Watson was a Labour candidate for Glasgow East in the 2019 general election, finishing second behind the SNP’s David Linden. She served as director of operations in the 2014 Better Together campaign and worked for Douglas Alexander, now the minister of state for trade in the UK government.

In 2019, Watson was alleged to be part of the Berkshire-based 77th Brigade, a propaganda outfit described as a “special force of Facebook warriors”.

David Miller, a professor of political sociology at Bristol University, told the Herald at the time that “the 77th Brigade is involved in manipulation of the media including using fake online profiles”.

Watson’s predecessor, John-Paul McHugh, stepped down after this year’s general election.

Sarwar said: “I am delighted that Kate Watson has been appointed as the new Scottish general secretary of our party. Kate brings a wealth of experience with the party over many years and she is perfectly suited to lead our fantastic staff team at this crucial time.

“The general election result showed that Scottish Labour can deliver change for Scotland and I’d like to again place on record my thanks and gratitude to John-Paul McHugh for the work he carried out as general secretary to deliver that.

“Now we have gotten rid of one failing government, our focus is on the 2026 Scottish parliament election.”

“Kate’s appointment demonstrates that we are getting election-ready.”

Watson said: “It is fantastic to take on this new role at such a pivotal time for our party and our country.

“I am excited to continue working to build on the strong legacy left behind by John-Paul McHugh and take our party into the 2026 election.”