Britainupdated 19m ago3 min read
MapScottish Labour Leader Michael Marra Calls for UK To Rejoin European Union
“Labour appears willing to exploit hostility towards the Jewish state for votes”
“The Scottish Labour leader has called for the UK to re-join the European Union”
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL · Cropped for layout
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra calls UK to rejoin the EU. Rejoining the EU framed as a long-term objective for the entire country.
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EU return debate widens
Michael Marra called on the British government to reverse Brexit and rejoin the European Union in his first major speech as Scottish Labour leader at Edinburgh University.
Marra said, "It is in Scotland's interests, and in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, for the UK to rejoin the European Union," and he added, "I don't pretend it will happen quickly. But I believe we should set it as a long-term objective for the UK, and that Scotland should lead the change in making that happen," as he set out a distinct Scottish Labour position.
Andy Burnham’s office clarified that the prime minister was not proposing a return to freedom of movement or any particular option, after Burnham had called for an "honest discussion" on the issue.
Marra accepted there would be "serious questions" over issues such as currency and borders before the UK could return to the EU, while the UK government ruled out rejoining within this parliament.
Marra also told BBC Scotland News that re-joining the EU was not the current policy of the UK Labour Party and not the current policy of the UK government, and he said, "This is a distinct Scottish Labour position."
Labour, Israel, and local votes
Labour appeared willing to exploit hostility towards the Jewish state for votes, pointing to a Birmingham city council motion paving the way for divestment from Israel and to Labour’s campaigning ahead of the Holborn and St Pancras by-election. Labour paid to promote some of Ed Miliband’s statements about Israel on Facebook, with the advertisements running from October 5 to 8 and targeting nine parliamentary constituencies with disproportionately large Muslim populations. Ed Miliband’s descriptions of Israel’s conduct as a "stain on the conscience of the world" and a "moral emergency" were repackaged as political advertising.
The Local Government Chronicle said Labour’s National Executive Committee instructed Labour councillors to end power-sharing arrangements where local Green groups had not publicly rejected a motion adopted at the Green Party’s conference declaring that "Zionism is racism". The Local Government Chronicle said the motion received less than 1% of Green Party members’ votes, and it said Labour gave local Green groups seven days to make a clear public statement rejecting the policy.
Council fallout and party rules
The Local Government Chronicle said Labour’s decision to withdraw collaboration with the Greens had not prompted a change in leader at any of the 11 affected councils, with most administrations seeking to continue under revised political arrangements. Sheffield City Council agreed a last-minute arrangement on 4 November, and the Local Government Chronicle said Council leader Fran Belbin had initially said Labour would seek to end the partnership and run a minority administration before confirming the joint arrangement would continue. Derbyshire Dales District Council continued under a minority administration, and the Local Government Chronicle said the Liberal Democrats and Greens held 17 of the council’s 34 seats following Labour’s departure from the alliance.
Under Labour party rules, NEC decisions on local power-sharing arrangements must be implemented within 14 days, and the consequences varied between councils with some continuing under minority administrations and others retaining wider political alliances. Warwick District Council faced a vote of no confidence on 11 November, and the Local Government Chronicle said the Greens hold 14 of the council’s 44 seats and that Council leader Ian Davison intended to continue governing until the next local elections in May 2027.