Michael Marra: I'd like Scotland to rejoin EU in a generation

The new Scottish Labour leader said he would “like us to be part of the EU” in 25 years time.

The UK should rejoin the European Union “in a generation”, Michael Marra has said.

The new Scottish Labour leader said he would “like us to be part of the EU” in 25 years time.

He was speaking at a fringe event at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool.

Mr Marra said that he did not see the UK rejoining the bloc in the short term because “Europe is really unstable at the moment.”

But he said he would like to return to the EU “at some point in the in the distant future, were Europe to be a different place”.

He told Politico’s Andrew McDonald: “I'm less convinced about the rejoin side of it because frankly Europe's changing and changing quickly.

“There's huge political instability in all parts of the country. We see what's happened in Germany. We have challenges then towards the French presidential election.

“The idea that Europe is going to be in a position to say, ‘Oh, people would have the UK back in at no cost or any terms that we might think were reasonable,’ I'm not really sure there's any realistic chance for any of that.

“We do need is a closer relationship because we know the economic cost that's resulted from from Brexit.

“So I want to see us doing that on a forthright basis. And some of the things we've done around that, Erasmus and so on, I think, is a key thing.

“But Scotland, the people of Scotland, did vote to remain. That is absolutely the case, and we do want to see the relationship that is going in the right direction.”

He added: “I just don't think rejoin is on the journey. I think that’s from both sides.”

When pushed further he said: “At some point in the in the distant future, were Europe to be a different place, I would like us to be part of the EU.

“Actually, I think we're looking at a generation or more before that is a realistic prospect.

“Politics, as I'd say, in Europe is really unstable at the moment. Facing many of the same challenges as we are as the UK in terms of the global economic instability, challenges in the Middle East, migrant crises across parts of Europe have really destabilised politics.

“So I can't think it's a prospect that we're looking at.

“And actually, what we should be focused on is what works. People want us to be pragmatic about this relationship. I think that's where we need to be.”

When asked how long a generation was, he said: “Different interpretations on that. I suppose in my head, generations always felt like 25 years.

“In Scotland, that's a politically loaded term, I suppose.”