Scottish Labour suffering 'identity crisis' as Sarwar heads to Lords

Anas Sarwar sparked an internal row after it emerged he will stand down as leader to take up a ministerial post in Andy Burnham’s government.

The move led to some accusing him of selfishness and “failing upwards”, while opponents said it showed “appalling” judgement.

Brian Leishman, the outspoken MP for Alloa and Grangemouth, said Mr Sarwar had presided over “dire” electoral failings and he was glad he was going.

"I think it's an incontrovertible fact that when we look at what happened in [the Holyrood election of] 2021, when we look at what happened in 2026, the political direction under Anas's leadership did not cut through,” Mr Leishman said.

"It returned our least amount of MSPs ever in 2021, and then even fewer in 2026."

READ MORE: Sarwar to quit as Scottish Labour leader to join Burnham government

He previously called on Mr Sarwar and his deputy Jackie Baillie to resign following May’s election, in which Labour recorded its worst ever Holyrood result.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Mr Leishman said: "I really want to see the party have an honest, frank assessment and analysis of what has gone wrong, or why, in my opinion, what was once a large section of our core vote now no longer votes for Scottish Labour.

"I want to get these people back home."

He added: "That's why I say I want to get back to our traditional Scottish Labour roots and rediscover our radicalism.

"Because quite frankly, what we've been offering the last five years clearly has not struck any chord with the electorate whatsoever."

Mr Leishman said many Scots no longer know what Labour stands for.

"Anas has shifted his views on quite a few things over the years,” he said. “I'm just looking for a Scottish Labour leader to be consistent."

Mr Sarwar, who has been Scottish Labour leader since 2021, was among the first to call for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down in February.

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

The Glasgow MSP is expected to head to the House of Lords in order 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, and will spark a party leadership election.

Among those expected to throw their hats in the ring is North East MSP Michael Marra.

Monica Lennon, a former leadership contender, is also expected to fight any contest. She is not currently an MSP but is due to replace Mr Sarwar in Holyrood via the list system.

Some insiders are keen to see a contest rather than a coronation to allow for a proper debate over the party’s future strategy.

Ms Lennon told the Daily Record she would not rule herself out of a leadership contest when Mr Sarwar quits.

She said: “It would be a huge honour and privilege to go back to Parliament and serve as a member for Glasgow.

“If I had the opportunity to go back to Parliament, I would absolutely welcome that.”

Ms Lennon said of a potential leadership contest: “I am not going to rule myself out of anything right now. I want to respect other colleagues and hear what they have to say.”

She previously advocated splitting from UK Labour to “become a party in our own right”, and debate around this has reignited following the Holyrood election.

But Irene Campbell, the Labour MP for North Ayrshire and Arran, is among those opposed to this idea.

“I don’t want the Scottish Labour Party to be separate from the UK Labour Party,” she told The Scotsman. “That’s definitely not a direction that I would want the party to go in.”

She added: “As a trade unionist as well, I just think it’s really important that we stay together as one big party. It’s all about solidarity, collectivism.”

Alan Roden, a former director of communications for Scottish Labour, believes Mr Marra is the favourite.

“There will almost certainly be a contest, and the frontrunner is Micahel Marra,” he said.

“He is well established in the parliament and has a lot of supporters amongst the MSPs and MPs and that is crucial because you need the support of 15 per cent of the parliamentary Labour Party, which includes MPs.”

He said some within the party will feel “disappointed and potentially angry” at Mr Sarwar’s exit.

“For voters, I don’t think there will be a huge impact,” he said. “Those who fundamentally disagree with the existence of the House of Lords will not change their minds, and those who don’t care will not change their minds either.

“When it comes to the internal party, I think it will all blow over very quickly.

“Anas Sarwar picked the party up from rock bottom, professionalised and transformed its digital output, so while he leaves the party with fewer MSPs, in terms of infrastructure he is leaving it in a better position than he inherited it.”

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

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

He 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.”

First Minister John Swinney criticised Mr Sarwar’s move.

“I think what it demonstrates is an appalling level of judgement by Anas Sarwar,” he told BBC Radio Scotland.

“He said before the (Holyrood) election he had absolutely no interest in going to the House of Lords, he only wanted to be first minister of Scotland.

“Then, after the election, Anas Sarwar has accepted a place in the House of Lords – a body, by the way, he wants to abolish.

“That is an incredible level of hypocrisy and it just illustrates what I think the Prime Minister is trying to address, which is the fact that politicians say one thing one minute and then do another thing the next minute, when it suits them.

“That, I thought, was what Andy Burnham was trying to address and to solve.

“But instead, Andy Burnham has exacerbated that sentiment within our society.”