What a Labour government means for Scotland and relations with the Scottish government

Labour is expected to win the general election – and perhaps even win a majority of seats in Scotland.

After the 2015 campaign that left Labour with just one member of parliament in Scotland, the party is confident the tide is finally turning.

But what exactly would a Labour government at Westminster – as appears all but certain to be ushered in later this week – mean for Scotland and relations with the Scottish government?

Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar and Deputy Labour Party Leader Angela Rayner speak at a campaign event in Hamilton on Friday. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Speaking to an array of Scottish Labour figures about what a win would mean, the overwhelming response was one of a renewed focus in Whitehall on improving the lives of Scots, as well as predictions of more spending.

But a planned shift to the operation of the Scotland Office could yet increase tensions with the Scottish Government.

Under the Conservatives, the UK government has used the Scotland Office as a vehicle to invest directly in projects in Scotland, through initiatives such as City Deals and the Levelling Up agenda, by deliberately bypassing the Scottish Government.

Shadow Scotland secretary Ian Murray has pledged to further "turbo-charge" the Scotland Office. Under Labour plans, the department would be responsible for handing out £150 million of levelling up money to communities, with a particular focus on helping deprived areas, cutting poverty rates, creating jobs and stimulating economic growth.

Edinburgh Castle as it sits on the rock above the city and the Balmoral Clock in the foreground. Labour have vowed to work harder on investment in Scotland if they win the general election

Setting out his party’s stall, Mr Murray pledged voting to oust the “rotten Tory government” would see it replaced with a Labour government that had “Scotland at its heart”.

He said: “That government will get to work right away for the benefit of Scotland by seeking to create jobs and reduce poverty.

“Our new deal for working people would be the biggest transformation in workers’ rights for decades. It would deliver a pay rise for 200,000 of the lowest-paid workers in Scotland and ban exploitative zero-hours contracts.

“Our plan for GB Energy, a publicly-owned energy company headquartered right here in Scotland, will help create jobs, lower bills and deliver energy security for Scotland. Our Green Prosperity Plan will create 69,000 jobs in Scotland.

Labour figures predict the UK Government will have a renewed focus on Scotland after the election.

“If I am privileged enough to lead the Scotland Office, that department will work to deliver jobs, growth and investment in Scotland, well as invest directly in communities to create jobs and tackle poverty."

Shadow finance secretary Michael Marra explained part of the transformation would come from new MPs passionate about devolution and therefore better placed to help shape policy on it.

The North East Scotland MSP also dismissed talk of relations between the UK and Scottish administrations only being better if Labour win in Holyrood in 2026, arguing “we can’t wait until then”.

He said: “There is a real need to reset the relationships and that’s clear on both sides. There have been two bad faith actors within the constitutional settlement, so no wonder nothing gets done. We need to have a proper reset to make sure they can actually deliver for Scotland.

“There will be expectations on both sides and we have to show in those intervening 23 months that a Labour Government can deliver for Scotland in the UK. The politics of that have to function. There’s no point having a government that is so divorced from its outcomes or distance that it’s not going to work.

“The thing people speak to me about is investment, whether government investment or private investment. They want to see a stable government that works. Things like city deals, huge amounts of that money have been unspent, partly because things have been totally dysfunctional between the UK government and Scottish Government.

“In terms of making these things work for people, infrastructure, investing in local communities, that stuff just hasn’t been realised. That’s what we need to make work in the first instance.”

Mr Marra suggested a Labour government could help Whitehall have a better understanding of Scotland due to the expected new influx of Scottish Labour MPs. Leading into this week’s general election, Scotland has had just two Labour MPs – and one of those in Michael Shanks only won his seat in October last year when he ousted former SNP politician Margaret Ferrier in a by-election.

Mr Marra said: “We have an outstanding crop of Labour candidates who I hope will be elected as MPs, and they will be active participants, whether in the Cabinet or not, so will be speaking for their communities and making clear how things should be.

“It is a generation of Labour politicians who are profoundly devolutionist and understand how it works, but also recognise where it hasn’t worked.

“That is a massive step change, genuinely devolutionist politicians coming in for the first time. And if you look at the age profile of those people who came up through Scottish Labour politics, many have campaigned in or campaigned for the Scottish Parliament, so they understand what works. These are people who are absolutely ideally placed to make that work for people.”

Paul Sweeney, the shadow minister for mental health and veterans, argued a Labour win would change the narrative around his party. He predicted they would be far bolder in their offering once it came to shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves’ first budget.

The Glasgow MSP admitted Labour had been “risk averse” in this campaign, but insisted the UK government would become one “relatable to Scots”.

Predicting bolder policies, Mr Sweeney said: “We are quite risk averse at the moment, much to the chagrin of some Labour activists. But in time we will place an emphasis on public investment, because you deliver growth by making public investments.

“There’s lots of reasons why the party doesn’t want to be drawn on it. You couldn’t really do it until the budget, and we saw with [former prime minister] Liz Truss, you want to balance monetary policy carefully.

“When it comes to tax policies such as removing the exemption for VAT on public schools, these are relatively minor changes. And there will need to be a big focus on growth, which has been the defining mission for the next Labour government.

“We’re stagnant as a nation and there needs to be an attempt to jumpstart things. There needs to be an ambitious programme. It’s not possible to move on without it, I can’t see a Conservatively fiscal approach doing anything”.

Turning to his party manifesto, Mr Sweeney insisted “that’s just whetting the appetite”. “It’s quite a high-level document, but it’s not drawing a lot of detail and that’s fair enough,” he said. “Given we’re so far ahead in the polls, we don’t want to create unforced errors.

“To get the election result we need in this country, we don’t get dragged into dogfights with the Tories, and have to focus on what people actually need in this country. Clearly that will require some serious investment. That is about not just throwing money onto failing public services, but making shrewd chess moves to drive economic growth.”

Mr Sweeney expressed hopes for a “change in relationship” with the SNP Government at Holyrood. He said: “I reflect on eve of 2010 election, there was a Question Time in Edinburgh, [former first minister] Alex Salmond on the panel, and guy in the audience was saying ‘you can’t wait for the Tories to win, they are the perfect pantomime villain for you’. And I think that has been the reality.

“The Tories are the perfect encapsulation of the alienation that the SNP try to drive between Scotland and the rest of the UK, the idea that it’s a government without a mandate, a foreign entity, and I think that dynamic shifts with Labour.

“They will see a government that has its back, is relatable to Scots, and I would also hope it opens the door to a more progressive relationship”.

Tommy Sheppard, the SNP’s Scotland spokesperson, and candidate for Edinburgh East and Musselburgh, insisted his party would “always work across party lines to benefit the people of Scotland”. But he suggested Labour needed to work harder on relationships with the SNP.

"We have repeatedly reached out to the Labour Party, urging them to work with us to help families with the cost of living and deliver proper funding for the NHS and public services,” he said.

"Unfortunately, Keir Starmer has copied Tory policies and is now planning to impose £18 billion of cuts, a hard Brexit, creeping privatisation of the NHS, and he wants to block Scotland from having further devolution and any say over our future.”

Labour peer Baron Foulkes of Cumnock, who served as Minister of State for Scotland from 2001 to 2002, predicted a Labour government would mean more investment in infrastructure, and could also see a Holyrood election take place before 2026.

He said: “If the SNP do really badly, I think there will be more of a demand for the Holyrood election, and I think they will do badly. I think there will be a call, not just from the Labour party or the Lib Dems, but from wider civic society and people who have been suffering from various policies that the SNP have, and I think [First Minister John] Swinney is going to be a goner.

“I think relations depend on who they replace him with.”

Addressing Labour’s plans for Scotland, Baron Foulkes said Scottish Labour MPs would “deliver immediately” and having roles in Government departments would help Scotland.

He said: ““I think there will be realisation that [there needs to be] a lot of infrastructure work, not just the dualling of the A9, but there will be public transport investment.

“As well as getting the advantage of all the jobs that were created, just imagine getting a link to Glasgow Airport. Public transport infrastructure … I think there will be pressure on that, and of course some of the Scottish MPs will be junior ministers. It’s highly likely we will not just have Ian [Murray], but one or two others in energy, the Treasury. That will be really helpful”.