Scottish Labour Leader Acknowledges Voter Distrust Despite SNP Criticism

The new leader of Scottish Labour has stated that voters in Scotland recognized the Scottish National Party (SNP) as having a poor record but did not switch their support to Labour because they did not perceive Labour as a credible alternative.

Michael Marra acknowledged that Scottish Labour failed to convince voters, who were concerned about the SNP's performance in government, that his party offered a realistic choice in the lead-up to the May election. This election resulted in Labour's worst outcome since devolution, securing only 17 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

Speaking at a Labour Friends of Scotland event during the party's conference in Liverpool, Marra remarked, "The people of Scotland, all the evidence said, they know that the SNP are c**p, they that their record is rotten." He added, "That's what makes May so gutting for so many of us. The country didn't believe that we were the alternative. That's the huge frustration."

In the Scottish Parliament election, Labour's representation dropped from 21 seats to 17, placing them in a tie for second place with Reform UK. Their vote share on the constituency ballot decreased by 2.4 percentage points to 19.2 percent, and on the regional list, it fell by 1.9 percentage points to 16.0 percent.

Blair McDougall, the MP for East Renfrewshire and appointed Reindustrialisation Minister by Andy Burnham, also conceded that Labour's election campaign had shortcomings. However, he asserted that neither former leader Anas Sarwar nor ousted Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer bore responsibility for the defeat.

McDougall contended that the SNP had taken devolution and concentrated power, disempowering communities. He stated, "The problem is, people think those things about us too, and that is what we learnt in the election. Despite having the generational talent of Anas Sarwar – incredibly gifted campaigner, incredibly gifted communicator – they believed those things about us, didn't believe we were sufficiently ambitious about devolution."

He described this as a "really hard lesson" and expressed the difficulty of realizing that opponents' negative perceptions could be shared by the public. McDougall, a former campaign director for Better Together, emphasized the need for Scottish Labour to be "ruthless and honest" in addressing its negative perceptions and to offer voters a "sense of hope."

He concluded, "We have to recognise why it was with a great leader and with a terrible SNP government that we lost. It wasn't about any individual, it wasn't about any policy, it wasn't even about Keir Starmer or the UK Government. But because had been swimming against a tide the SNP created." The SNP was approached for comment.