Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has insisted he will stay in post 'to hold my party together' following last week's Holyrood election humiliation, as he stood by his call for Sir Keir Starmer to resign. Mr Sarwar said he 'absolutely' intends to remain in post but would not specify for how long, nor would he commit to leading his party into the next Holyrood election.
He again blamed a 'national wave' across the UK for Labour slumping to its worst ever Scottish Parliament election result last Thursday, when it returned just 17 MSPs. His comments came in a BBC interview on Sunday after he faced criticism for going into hiding since his own election result was confirmed on Friday afternoon.
Sarwar Acknowledges Disappointment
Mr Sarwar described the election result as 'disappointing and hurtful'. He stated: 'There was a national wave, you can see that right across every part of the United Kingdom, but I'm not going to shy away from my share of the responsibility. Of course I take my share of the responsibility, my fair share of the responsibility, for the outcome we got which ultimately was not the one we wanted, was not my ambition and was disappointing.'
Labour lost five seats compared to the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, which was its previous worst performance. Its vote share was 19.2 per cent on the constituency ballot, down 2.4 percentage points on five years ago, and 16.0 per cent on the regional list, a decline of 1.9 percentage points.
Call for Starmer's Resignation
On whether Sir Keir needs to resign as Prime Minister, Mr Sarwar said: 'I said what I said back in February, I'm not recoiling from that.' He confirmed he was 'absolutely' going to stay in post but made it 'no secret' that he believes Sir Keir should not remain as leader.
Addressing his own future, Mr Sarwar stated: 'I see my job as holding my party together and making sure that we play our part in parliament in the national interest to hold this government to account.' When asked if he intends to lead his party into the next election, he replied: 'I've got a job to do and I intend to do it.' Pressed on how long he would remain, he noted that he is the longest-serving leader in the Scottish Parliament.
Criticism and Internal Pressure
Some Labour figures have suggested that the party's campaign focused too much on constituencies and not enough on the regional list. Mr Sarwar admitted that the party felt it could replicate a successful campaign in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, when it unexpectedly defeated the SNP. He insisted his party had proposed 'big ideas' but that 'this election didn't come down to big ideas it came down to big national wave and a general vibe that we couldn't change'.
Mr Sarwar said he will not work with Reform UK but will collaborate with other parties who share his views to 'make sure there is a credible opposition that hold the SNP's feet to the fire'.
Internal Blame Game
In a scathing analysis in the Sunday Mail, Paul Sinclair, a former senior adviser to ex-Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont, blamed current deputy leader Jackie Baillie and called for her removal. He claimed she and Mr Sarwar had not put in enough work to enter Bute House and that the party had become 'Sarwar and Baillie's fantasy project'. Mr Sinclair said: 'Senior figures in the Scottish Labour party often quip Baillie has been responsible for the removal of more Scottish Labour leaders than anyone else since devolution started – sometimes by plotting against them, occasionally by getting them to follow her advice. Sarwar, I fear, falls into the latter category. Her election as one of just three Labour constituency MSPs assures her of another five years at Holyrood. Her role, however, must come to an end if the Scottish Labour party is ever going to move on and reinvent itself.'
