Michael James Marra is a Scottish Labour politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland since May 2021.
Michael Marra | |
|---|---|
 Swearing in, 2021 | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for North East Scotland (1 of 7 Regional MSPs) | |
| Assumed office 8 May 2021 | |
| Scottish Labour Portfolios | |
| May 2021 - April 2023 | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills |
| April 2023 - Present | Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael James Marra |
| Political party | Scottish Labour |
Early life
editMichael Marra was born in Dundee in 1979. He joined the Labour Party as a teenager.[1]
Marra was educated at St John's High School, the University of Glasgow and the London School of Economics.[1]
Before becoming an MSP, Marra worked for Oxfam and the Leverhulme Research Centre for Forensic Science at the University of Dundee.[2]
Political career
editMichael Marra was elected as a councillor in Dundee's Lochee ward in 2017.[3] He stood down at the 2022 Scottish Parliament election.
Marra previously worked for Scottish Labour Leader Iain Gray as an advisor prior to and during the 2011 Scottish Parliamentary election.[2]
In the 2015 United Kingdom general election, he contested Dundee West but lost to Chris Law from the SNP.
In November 2020, Marra was confirmed as a candidate on Labour's regional list for the North East, coinciding with his sister Jenny Marra announcing that she would not seek re-election to the Scottish Parliament.[4]
On 8 May 2021 Marra was elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North East Scotland.[5] He had been appointed as Education and Skills spokesperson in Scottish Labour's campaign cabinet just before the 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.[6] He was retained as Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills after the election. [7]
He has described himself as being part of Labour's "soft left".[8]
In 2021 Michael Marra won the Holyrood magazine “One For The Watching” award, a newcomer award judged by a panel made up of senior MSPs, journalists, and Scotland’s two top pollsters.[8]
In April 2023 it was announced he would take on the role of Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Finance [9]
Marra backed the UK Government’s decision to introduce means-testing for the Winter Fuel Payment, voting in the Scottish Parliament against calls to reverse the decision.[10]
Injury Time campaign
editSince 2021, Marra has been campaigning for Alzheimer's disease in footballers to be classed as an industrial disease. A study carried out for the Football Association and the Professional Footballers’ Association in 2019 discovered that there was a five-fold increase in Alzheimer’s disease among the former players.[11]
Marra had said: “The Scottish Government must recognise that these injuries are a form of industrial disease and allow these players to access the support they need, and deserve.”
Personal life
editMichael Marra is married and has three children.[1]
He is a lifelong Dundee United supporter.[12]
His uncle is the Dundonian folk singer Michael Marra,[8] who died in 2012.
Michael Marra has an interest in the history and writings of Abraham Lincoln.[13]
References
edit- ^ a b c "About Michael | Michael Marra For North east scotland". Michael Marra. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ a b Boothman, John. "Ones to watch in the Holyrood class of 2021". ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "City Council 2017 Election Results". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ Malik, Paul (30 November 2020). "Michael Marra aims to replace sister Jenny as MSP". The Courier. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ "Scotland Election 2021 > North East Scotland". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Rodgers, Sienna. "Sarwar unveils new 'campaign cabinet' to lead Scottish Labour into election". LabourList. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ Davidson, Peter (31 May 2021). "Scottish Labour announce shadow team as Anas Sarwar focuses on national recovery". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "One for the watching: An interview with Michael Marra". Holyrood Website. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ Media, P. A. (10 April 2023). "Sarwar declares Scottish Labour 'election ready' as he revamps top team". STV News. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
- ^ "How every MSP voted as Holyrood rejected the UK's Winter Fuel Payment cut". The National. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
- ^ "Labour call for dementia in former footballers to be 'industrial disease'". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ O'Neill, Emma. "'We're not Glaswegian about these things': Dundee United-supporting MSP Michael Marra lodges motion congratulating Dundee on promotion". The Courier. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Getting to know you: Michael Marra". Holyrood Website. 11 March 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
External links
edit- Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: Michael Marra
 | This article about a member of the Scottish Parliament is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |