Labour Considering Cross-Department Ministers To Act As Scotland's "Window To The World"

Shadow Scotland Secretary Ian Murray has said Labour is considering introducing cross-departmental Scotland ministers to reform how Scotland is represented across the UK Government, as the party works to finalise its general election manifesto.

With a general election on the horizon and the polls showing Labour well in the lead ahead of the Conservatives, Murray has been tasked with refining Labour's offer to Scotland and he believes "cooperation" should be at the heart of it.

Murray, currently one of only two Labour MPs in Scotland, said if Labour get into power he would eventually like to see a greater number of ministers in the Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland, and possibly also cross-departmental ministers who would ensure Scotland’s interests were being directly considered across a range of policy areas. He cited the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Department for Business and Trade as examples of this that could be most productive.

“That window to the world is really important because Scottish growth is going to depend on exports, it's going to depend on championing the stuff that we do really well abroad," he said. 

"And that's going to be an incredibly important part of working with the Trade and the Foreign Office.”

Explaining that he would want the Scotland Office to “become a much more powerful, proactive department” and “get the sharp elbows out to make sure Scotland’s voice is heard”, he added that he believed there needed to be a “step-change” in both cross-government and cross-departmental working.

He added that he also wanted to see “local representatives at the heart of the next government standing up for Scotland”. The Scottish National Party, which has dominated politics