Exclusive:Marra warns Labour could 'lose national status' over Glasgow focus as he addresses Sarwar split
Michael Marra told The Scotsman he has personally lobbied the UK government in recent months to end the controversial energy profits levy.
The frontrunner to replace Anas Sarwar has hit out on his predecessor’s “narrow” focus on Glasgow during May’s dismal election - warning Scottish Labour could “lose our status as a national party” without appealing to all parts of the country.
Michael Marra, the regional MSP for North East Scotland, has also revealed to The Scotsman that he has personally lobbied the Labour UK government in recent months to end the controversial energy profits levy, a key demand made by Aberdeen’s oil and gas industry.
Mr Marra, who was appointed the party’s finance spokesperson under Mr Sarwar’s leadership, also spoke out about his predecessor’s inner circle rallying around his leadership rival, Joe Fagan, with an insistence that he is the “change candidate”.
The Dundee native, who played a key role in drawing up the party’s manifesto ahead of May’s dismal election, has attempted to shift the blame onto the previous leadership, suggesting Mr Fagan, backed by Mr Sarwar’s team, would simply tinker around the edges when a complete overhaul is required.
Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Marra warned Scottish Labour requires “a huge culture change right from the bottom of the party up”.
“We need to really fundamentally change the way the party works and how it connects with voters”, he added. “I don’t think more of the same will cut it.”
Mr Marra has laid into the previous Scottish Labour leadership’s strategy to simply present itself as better managers of the SNP’s vision for Scotland.
“The political position we took in May was to be a version of the SNP but more competent”, he said. “I do believe we would have been and would be.
“But the reality is that within a very fractured politics, we have to find more definition and make clear to people what we stand for and what we would change.”
Mr Marra heaped criticism on Mr Sarwar’s strategy as being too focused on Glasgow after using May’s election campaign to map out specific policies for Scotland’s largest city including pushing forward plans for a metro transport system, despite having no funding identified.
“I worry that too often Labour in Scotland becomes essentially what you can see out of the window in the headquarters in Glasgow”, Mr Marra warned.
“Our campaigns end up being about Glasgow, about Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire.”
He added: “If you can’t win seats in the North East of Scotland, you cannot form a government. That is just the case. The same as if you don’t win seats in the Highland and Islands.
“If we allow ourselves to shrink back into the position of not listening to people in those areas, not reflecting their needs, then we will lose our status as a national party on that basis.”
The UK Labour government has faced intense criticism from the energy industry and its political opponents over its North Sea strategy, particularly over having no plans to reform the energy profits levy until 2030.
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Mr Marra warned that the North Sea “is the central economic challenge” for Scotland.
He said: “I have argued both behind the scenes and in public for a more evidence-based approach to the North Sea question.
“We have committed to ending the EPL by 2030. I think that’s going to be too late. I think we’re going to have to move that further forward. We’ve had a significant increase in investment allowances.”
Mr Marra acknowledged that Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership severely damaged Scottish Labour’s standing with the public.
Mr Marra’s rival, Mr Fagan, who was only first elected to Holyrood in May, has won the support of Anas Sarwar’s inner circle including his former head of media and key allies, while it is understood deputy leader Jackie Baillie fell out of favour with Mr Marra over alleged briefings following the election.
Asked by The Scotsman if there had been a falling out with his colleagues, Mr Marra shrugged his shoulders.
He said: “I’ve always seen myself as a team player. I have backed and supported whoever has been in the leadership role, just as I did with Anas.
“Anas’ politics are different to mine. We’re not the same people, the same character - we have very different views and different backgrounds. But we’re both Labour to our core.”
Mr Marra insisted that he was “the change candidate” in the leadership election.
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