Labour leader backs North Sea oil

Michael Marra, newly elected Scottish Labour leader, immediately backed development of the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gasfields, calling for a more rational energy policy.

“I want Rosebank and Jackdaw to be approved. It's the biggest issue in my region in terms of people's voting intention.”

Marra wins party leadership

The MSP for North East Scotland won nearly two-thirds of the vote to become Scottish Labour's 11th leader, replacing Anas Sarwar who resigned in July.

Labour's Scottish collapse

Scottish Labour won just 17 seats in May's election, its worst result ever. The party has lost seats at every Holyrood election since devolution in 1999.

Marra's challenge: reconnect with voters

Marra said Labour had focused too much on middle-class voters and lost touch with working-class Scots. He vowed to rebuild a broader coalition centred on Scotland's needs.

“Scots know what we are against. They can't tell you what we are for.”

Oil projects already in the pipeline

Rosebank and Jackdaw are exempt from the government's ban on new North Sea drilling licences because their applications were submitted before Labour took power.

Academics warn of deeper problems

University researchers say Scottish Labour must address why it lost working-class voters and failed to articulate a vision for Scotland beyond opposing independence.

Independence not a priority now

Marra said the SNP's failure to win an outright majority in May showed voters don't want a second independence referendum, so Labour will focus on a stronger Scotland within the UK.