Scottish Labour leadership candidate Marra open to local election deals but rules out Reform pact
Michael Marra, a candidate in the Scottish Labour leadership race, has said he is open to forming party agreements at local elections but will not accept any deals with Reform Scotland.
Michael Marra, a candidate in the Scottish Labour leadership contest, has signalled he would be willing to consider party arrangements at local elections, while drawing a firm line against any cooperation with Reform Scotland. The Dundee-based MSP made the remarks as the race to succeed Anas Sarwar continues to take shape, with internal party strategy emerging as a central theme of the contest.
Marra said he would not accept any deals with Reform Scotland, distancing himself from any suggestion of an electoral pact with the party. His comments come amid wider debate within Scottish Labour about how best to maximise seats in council contests, where smaller parties and independents often hold the balance of power. The leadership hopeful has framed his openness to local agreements as a pragmatic approach to winning, rather than a shift in ideological positioning.
The candidate has also defended past remarks directed at Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, when he told him to «shut up». Marra said the comments were made at a time when UK Labour briefing wars were damaging the Scottish party. He argued that internal divisions at the UK level had been undermining Scottish Labour's electoral prospects and that his intervention was aimed at protecting the party's interests north of the border.
In a separate intervention, Marra described issues within Scottish Labour as «systemic», suggesting that the party's problems run deeper than individual leadership decisions. His diagnosis points to organisational and strategic weaknesses that he believes must be addressed if the party is to rebuild support across Scotland. The leadership contest has therefore become a forum for debating not just who should lead, but how the party should be structured and how it should relate to both UK Labour and other political forces in Scotland.
The race comes at a critical moment for Scottish Labour, which has been seeking to recover ground after a series of difficult electoral cycles. Marra's willingness to consider local deals reflects a broader strategic question facing the party: whether it can regain influence through alliances at council level without compromising its identity. His explicit rejection of any arrangement with Reform Scotland, however, sets a clear boundary that he says will not be crossed.
Marra's campaign has emphasised the need for a more disciplined and focused party machine, with internal cohesion seen as essential to future success. His remarks about Burnham and the briefing wars highlight the friction that has at times characterised relations between Scottish and UK Labour figures. By addressing these tensions head-on, Marra is seeking to position himself as a candidate willing to confront uncomfortable truths about the party's recent performance.
The leadership election is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, with party members and affiliated supporters casting votes. The outcome will determine who takes charge of Scottish Labour as it prepares for the next round of electoral challenges, including local government contests where the question of deals and alliances is likely to remain prominent.
