Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said his party is 'reaching out' to independence supporters ahead of the next general election, following a decisive by-election win in Rutherglen and Hamilton West. Labour secured twice as many votes as the SNP in the contest, which saw a swing of 20.4% from the nationalists.
Mr Sarwar, who is firmly opposed to a second independence referendum, said he would not 'close his arms' to Yes voters. He argued that many independence supporters were motivated by a desire to escape the 'rotten Tory government' rather than constitutional concerns alone.
The Scottish Labour leader cited the SNP's 2007 electoral breakthrough as an example of a party that did not change its constitutional position to win over voters. 'I don't support independence, I don't support a referendum, but I'm not going to shut my eyes or close my arms to people who voted Yes,' he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland.
Mr Sarwar said it was his 'ambition' to form a Labour government after the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. He called for more powers to be devolved to Scotland, but stressed that decentralisation should not mean power being 'sucked up in Edinburgh at Holyrood'. Instead, he advocated strengthening local government and sharing power and wealth across communities.
The by-election was triggered after former SNP MP Margaret Ferrier was ousted by constituents for breaking Covid rules. First Minister Humza Yousaf described the result as 'disappointing' but noted that Labour had benefited from a collapse in the Conservative vote. The SNP leader is expected to seek backing for his independence strategy at the party conference later this week.
