Shadow Scottish Secretary gave up Euros ticket to knock doors as SNP leaders jetted to Germany

The MP set to become Scotland’s most influential Labour cabinet minister was banging doors on the campaign trail as SNP top brass partied at the Euros.

Unassuming Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray gave up his ticket to the national side’s opening match against Germany on Friday to concentrate on helping his party back into power in its former heartlands on July 4.

His actions were in stark contrast to SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and First Minister John Swinney who were pictured kilted in Munich knocking back pints before the match, while Culture Secretary Angus Robertson donned lederhosen for selfies with the Tartan Army.

The dad-of-one, who for years served in Edinburgh South as his party’s only MP after Labour were annihilated by the SNP in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum, said: “The opportunity and the privilege to work to form a government with Scottish Labour MPs at its heart is my only focus.

“While I am hugely disappointed not to be in Munich with the rest of the 200,000 Tartan Army foot soldiers, the chance to get into government and improve the lives of millions of Scottish people is a much greater goal for me at the moment.”

In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mail Murray accused the SNP of hammering Scottish workers with extra income tax to pay for government incompetence, and vowed Labour would work to cut rates across the UK.

He insisted his party will raise the money to fund better public services by instead targeting oil and gas giants, private schools and super-rich non-doms.

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He said: “The Conservatives have responded to the worst cost of living crisis in a generation by giving people the highest tax burden in 80 years, and the Scottish Government has then stepped in and said ‘hold my beer’ before put tax up even higher and making the situation even worse.

“Nobody should be paying more tax to shore up an incompetent government but what we have seen across the UK - people are paying for things getting worse.

Workers don’t mind paying more tax if they are getting more in return but they do mind paying more and getting less - tax is important to people in this election, they feel like they are getting squeezed until the pips squeak while public services are going down hill and that is not good enough.”

Scottish Government changes to income tax bands mean Scottish workers earning more than around £28,000 pay more than those in the rest of the UK.

The additional sum rises from £10 extra at the lowest end and rises to £1,542 more for those on £50,000 a year, while those on a £150,000 salary pay £6,000 extra.

The SNP has defended the higher rates and insisted it is those with the broadest shoulders paying some more to make sure public services are properly funded.

But Murray said: “You see that in our manifesto there is going to be tax rises but we are clear about where they will be - there will be an increase in the tax on the excessive profits of oil and gas companies, removing tax exemptions from private schools, and ending non-dom status for very wealthy individuals.

“This will be aimed specifically at putting extra money into our public services.

“What the SNP and the Tories have done is to put up tax on ordinary people in order to fill a black hole created by their own incompetence.

“In Scotland the list is endless - from NHS agency spending to botched ferry contracts to aluminium smelters in Fort William.

“The promises that the SNP made to get themselves across the line in previous elections are now coming home to roost because people are having to pay more tax to fill black holes they created in budgets, when what people want is for their taxes to fill potholes in the roads.”

Rishi Sunak has claimed Labour’s election pledges will cost an average taxpayer £2000, but the figure has been widely panned an inaccurate.

Murray added: “The Tories are lying about Labour’s intentions on tax and they continue to lie despite having been proven to have lied.

“Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been clear that we need stability in the economy to make sure people are not paying the price for incompetence.

“We want to see this tax burden lessened and we will only be able to do that when we have the economy stabilised and growing and the fruits of that should then be seen in investment in our public services, and in the pockets of workers - you can’t tax your way to growth.”

A significant point of difference between the SNP and Labour is that the Nationalist oppose Keir Starmer’s plans to increase a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas giants.

The SNP’s Stephen Flynn has insisted this will punish companies supporting thousands of jobs in the North Sea and hasten the decline of the industry.

But Murray said: “People are quite happy to have a different tax system in Scotland but what we should be doing is taxing people at the right levels to generate the money to improve public services and the economy.

“But what I see is an SNP controlled government that says no to taxing the oil and gas giants more, but says yes to taxing nurses and teachers more - I believe that shows you they have the wrong priorities and are making the wrong choices.”

Murray, 47, grew up on a housing estate in the Wester Hailes area of Edinburgh where his dad was a cask maker and mum a shop assistant.

He served as a City of Edinburgh Councillor from 2003 to 2010 before becoming an MP, and his huge local popularity meant he was the only one to survive from his party from 2015 to 2017 and again from 2019 to 2023.

Murray added: “I grew up in the Thatcher years in a family where I was expected to be patriotic Scot, Hearts fan and defender of all things Labour.

“If I am privileged enough to work in the Scotland Office I will dedicate myself to giving people hope for the future by fighting for investment in jobs and communities.”

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