Sarwar to quit as Scottish Labour leader to join Burnham government

He will head to the Lords to take up a ministerial post at the revamped Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, headed by Jonathan Reynolds.

The move means he will have to stand down from Holyrood as he cannot be an MSP and a peer at the same time.

Mr Sarwar was the first major Labour figure to call for Keir Starmer to quit as prime minister back in February.

He hailed successor Mr Burnham for his “bold Labour vision” as he entered No 10 this week.

Former Greater Manchester mayor Mr Burnham appointed his Cabinet on Monday after taking office, but a raft of ministerial appointments are still to come.

Mr Sarwar, who was previously the MP for Glasgow Central, has been the leader of Scottish Labour since 2021.

However, there have been calls for him to go after the party’s poor Holyrood election campaign, in which it recorded its worst result in the history of devolution.

He said he planned to stay in his post after Sir Keir’s resignation in June.

Asked if he planned to serve for the five-year Holyrood term as party leader, Mr Sarwar said: “That is my intention.

“I’m hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform.”

In May, he was asked if he would ever take up a seat in the House of Lords.

“No,” the Glasgow MSP responded. “I'm focused on being First Minister of this great country."

Mr Sarwar previously called for the Lords to be scrapped, with a “senate of the nations and regions” created in its place.

“The House of Lords, in its current form, as an institution has no place in 21st-century politics,” he said in 2022.

“It is unacceptable, and has been for far too long, to have unelected representatives wielding such power.

“The House of Lords must be abolished and replaced with an institution which better reflects the makeup and the identity of the United Kingdom.”

His exit from Holyrood paves the way for a leadership contest, with North East Scotland MSP Michael Marra among those expected to throw their hats in the ring.

However, he could face competition from previous leadership contender Monica Lennon, whose position on the Glasgow list means she is now in line to return to the Scottish Parliament.

SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: “This is a terrible look for Andy Burnham who waxed lyrical about a new politics and devolving power - he’s just pulled the most undemocratic trick in the Westminster book.

“Anas Sarwar led Scottish Labour to their worst ever election defeat, but as is always the case with the Labour Party, there’s always a cushty number in the House of Lords.

“What a signal to send after their democractic defeat - this is the Labour Party literally lording it over the people of Scotland.

“This morning Andy Burnham denied Scottish democracy in a phone call with Scotland’s First Minister, tonight he appoints a failed Scottish Labour leader to the Lords. This new Labour Government has deeply damaged its democratic credibility tonight.

“Andy Burnham raised the question of where power lies on these islands - it’s clear the Labour Party are still stubbornly determined to keep it firmly in the grip of a detached and undemocratic Westminster establishment.”

Thomas Kerr, the deputy leader of Reform UK in Scotland, accused Mr Sarwar of walking away from his constituents.

“Only weeks ago, Anas Sarwar stood before the people of Glasgow asking for their trust and insisting that his future was here in Scotland,” he said. “Today, those same voters will rightly feel betrayed.

“Throughout the election campaign, he dismissed suggestions that he had ambitions elsewhere and claimed his focus was on serving Scotland. Now, at the first opportunity, he has walked away from the very people who placed their faith in him.

“Whether this was his choice or the consequence of Labour’s disastrous election performance, the outcome is the same: Glasgow has been denied the leadership it was promised.

“This is yet another example of Labour abandoning Glasgow when it becomes politically convenient. The people of this city deserve representatives who will stand and fight for them, not politicians who treat public office as a stepping stone to their next job.”