Michael Marra: Labour trying to appeal to a Scotland that no longer exists
Michael Marra says he has a mandate to change the direction of Scottish Labour.
Scottish Labour is trying to appeal to a Scotland that no longer exists, says its new leader.
Michael Marra MSP has taken over the party after winning the leadership contest against Joe Fagan MSP yesterday.
He said he will make sure Scotland is at the heart of all his conversations with Prime Minister Andy Burnham, and said he will set out what Scottish Labour is for, not just what it is against.
Speaking to BBC The Sunday Show, he said: “I have a strong mandate with well over 60 per cent of the membership, so I think it’s a strong mandate to change the direction of the party.
“I’m looking forward to getting on with that job. It’s a big job to do though, to reconnect with the whole country.
“I’m not going to come in here and say that it’s one more push, that’s absolutely not the case.
“I fundamentally believe we have to reconnect with the country in a really profound way.
“The country we are still trying to appeal to doesn’t exist anymore. The last Labour governments in 1999 and 2003, those people live in different places, they do different jobs.
“Scotland’s a different country.
“I’m interested in that future and how we talk to people’s aspirations, what they want for their kids.
“If we’re honest I think the country has become weaker in the last decade, whether that is schools, our NHS or our economy. I want people to feel that national pride again, and that’s what I’m going to be talking about.”
He said he has to be “absolutely clear” on how “significant” the party’s loss at May’s election. The party won 17 seats, which is its worst election result in the history of devolution.
Mr Marra said: “For too long, we have known what we’re against, whether it be the Tories, the SNP, and certainly against Reform.
“But we have to make sure that people know more about what we’re for - quality, solidarity, good public services, a decent life for working people.
“Those are the absolute critical values that I think we bring to the table.”
He also said he wants to see Mr Burnham do well as Prime Minister to boost the economy and make sure public services are working, and hinted that Dame Jackie Baillie MSP might stay on as deputy leader.
Dame Jackie has been the party’s acting leader in the past few weeks, but was Anas Sarwar’s deputy for years.
Mr Marra said: “Jackie has her own mandate as deputy leader, so I’ll be speaking to her this week.
“I want to work with her, and I have worked with her for years. She’s our longest-serving and hardest-working MSP, who has been re-elected time and time again by the people of Dumbarton.
“She kept the show on the road these last few months for the Labour Party in parliament.”
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