Scotland’s new Secretary of State is facing fierce criticism after a wave of past promises appear to have been quietly dropped since entering government.
Ian Murray, long seen as one of Labour’s most outspoken backbenchers, is being accused of abandoning his values now that he holds a Cabinet position.
The SNP has highlighted a list of causes Mr Murray once publicly supported, but which have since been left behind.
These include calls for full compensation for WASPI women, continued membership of the EU customs union, unilateral nuclear disarmament, strong support for Palestinian rights, and progressive gender reforms.
All were subjects of Early Day Motions Mr Murray personally signed during his time in opposition.
Yet in government, critics say, there’s little sign of those convictions being carried through.
SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald didn’t mince his words.
He said Mr Murray’s shift from “backbench idealist to Cabinet loyalist” was more than disappointing.
“It’s disgraceful,” he said.
“From Palestine to pensioners, nuclear weapons to the EU, he has abandoned almost every principle he once claimed to champion.”
Mr MacDonald added that the people of Edinburgh South, and Scotland as a whole, deserved better than what he called “a minister who has traded his principles for power”.
He accused Labour of treating Scotland as “an afterthought”.
The criticism points to a wider unease around Labour’s positioning on key issues north of the border.
For many voters who once backed the party for its progressive values, these perceived reversals are hard to ignore.
Supporters of the WASPI campaign, for example, have spent years fighting for fair compensation after changes to the state pension age left many women out of pocket.
Mr Murray backed their calls in opposition.
But since entering office, his voice has been notably quiet on the matter.
Similarly, he had once pushed for the UK to remain within the EU customs union, warning of damage to Scotland’s economy.
Now, those warnings have been shelved.
For SNP figures, this is all part of a larger pattern one where promises are made in opposition, only to be discarded when power is within reach.
For voters, the concern may not just be about broken promises.
It’s about trust, and whether the values a politician champions in public will survive behind the doors of government.
