LABOUR MSPs met yesterday to discuss the position of Jim Murphy as Scottish leader in a tense three-hour showdown at party headquarters.

Pressure is building on Murphy to stand down after a series of calls by Labour figures and by two unions for him to quit the post. Two more unions are expected to call for his resignation this week while a third is consulting on the issue.

Many of those present were tight-lipped after the crisis meeting in Glasgow, but a statement released by Labour MSP and Holyrood shadow cabinet member Jackie Baillie failed to mention him or whether he had the key group’s support.

She simply referred to the “huge challenges” the party faced and said it was united in moving towards next year’s Holyrood election. “Today we had a wide-ranging discussion, looking back at the General Election but more importantly also looking towards the future,” she said.

“No one in Scottish Labour is under any doubt or illusion as to the huge challenges we face as a party, and the challenges we face as a country.

“We are united in wanting to move forward together towards the Scottish Parliament elections of 2016 and beyond. The party will rebuild, and seek the opportunity to serve the people of Scotland again.”

Another MSP told The National: “The whole point of the meeting was to have a post-election discussion. It was a good discussion. It wasn’t as if we decided anything. The mood was discursive and realistic as well. Of course Jim is still leader.”

Murphy has refused to stand down despite losing his own seat and 39 MPs in the most humiliating election in his party’s history which left Labour with a single Scots MP.

Last night Murphy was still clinging to his job and is set to face a further challenge on Saturday at Labour’s Scottish Executive Committee when he faces a no confidence motion.

In a fresh blow, Unison as well as the Communication Workers’ Union are also said to be on the verge of urging Murphy to go – adding their voices to calls over the weekend made by Britain’s biggest union Unite and the train driver’s union Aslef who said his position was untenable.

A fifth union, the GMB, is consulting 50 elected officers to find out their views on Murphy continuing.

One source told The National: “Unison and the CWU are preparing to come out against him. It’s particularly significant that the CWU are going to do so as they tend to be more moderate.”

Former Scottish leader Johann Lamont as well as senior MSP Duncan McNeill and former education minister Hugh Henry were among those pictured leaving the MSPs meeting about 4.45pm yesterday.

Elaine Smith MSP, who called for Murphy to stand down on the weekend, was not present, though Neil Findlay, the Lothian MSP, who resigned from the Shadow Cabinet on Sunday, in protest at Murphy staying was believed to be there. Over the weekend there was a barrage of calls by Labour figures for Murphy to stand down.

Michael Connarty, defeated in Linlithgow and East Falkirk, said: “I don’t think that Jim is far enough away from the past to give us a future.”

Former Scottish health minister Andy Kerr accused Murphy of being part of the problem facing Labour in Scotland.

He said: “My worry is that Jim’s a product of the system who saw Scotland through the prism of their deep hatred for the SNP; they forgot to see Scotland through the prism of the Scottish people and how they are changing.”

Former First Minister Jack McConnell was another senior figure to enter into the debate – giving only a partial backing to Murphy.

He said: “I would like to see [Murphy] laying out exactly what he wants to do and I would like to see a proper debate inside the party about that.

“I would like to him and Kez [Kezia Dugdale, his deputy] to get time to have that discussion and then I would like him to engage with not just party members but voters and ex-voters and I think over that period of time it will become clear what should happen next.”