Scotland’s newly installed Labour leader has thrown his weight behind rejoining the European Union, calling it the correct “long-term answer” for both the UK and his own nation.
Michael Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, confirmed he will press his party nationally to back re-entry into the bloc. His comments, delivered Tuesday evening on Tonight with Andrew Marr, signal a sharp push from within Labour’s devolved leadership.
“I believe that it’s in the UK’s interest,” Marra said. “I believe the evidence on that is clear.” He pointed to a decade of economic fallout from Brexit, plus restricted opportunities for young people, as grounds for urgency.
“Now is the moment,” he added. “I do believe rejoin is the right long-term answer for the UK and particularly for Scotland.”
Marra also revealed he spoke with Prime Minister Andy Burnham on Monday about the issue. He sent a letter laying out his reasoning, publishing it so the public could see his position directly.
“His job is to bring those into one place,” Marra said of Burnham’s role in negotiations with Brussels. “I’m going to push our party nationally to make sure that we get right at the vanguard of that debate and that we set a long-term trajectory.”
He acknowledged the position lacks unanimous support. “There won’t be full agreement on that at the moment,” he said. “But the job of political leadership is to build that consensus, to bring people with you.”
Marra assumed the Scottish Labour leadership recently, and his EU stance marks an early defining policy battleground. Whether Westminster Labour adopts similar language remains uncertain. The prime minister has yet to respond publicly to Marra’s letter.
