Anas Sarwar: so long, suckers!

Michael Marra is being lined up as the right-wing continuity candidate to replace Anas Sarwar as leader of the Scottish Labour Party. The left candidate (in reality: soft left, but certainly a lot better than Marra) is yet to emerge, with various names currently "in the hat".

Paradoxically, the current state of Scottish Labour provides openings for the left.

Sarwar and his followers have led Scottish Labour to two Holyrood election defeats and a collapse in the membership and structures of Scottish Labour. Sarwar’s shameless decision to jump ship has demoralised even his own supporters.

Scottish Labour does not need just a new leader (and deputy leader, General Secretary, and Secretary of State for Scotland).

It needs a fundamental transformation and revival at grassroots level – recruiting new members, reaching out to youth, building links with local community groups and with trade unions in local workplaces.

Sarwar’s record of failure and departure from the scene provides an opportunity for such arguments to get a hearing. The left should seize on that opportunity.

Sarwar’s departure will trigger a Scottish Labour leadership contest. In theory, an MP or a Lord could stand for election. In reality, the field is restricted to the seventeen Labour MSPs. But Sarwar's record makes things difficult for a "continuity" candidate.

The House of Lords “must be abolished”. It has “no place in twenty-first-century politics.” Its “unrepresentative make-up” is “no longer justifiable”. It should be replaced by a directly elected “Senate of Nations and Regions”.

That was what Anas Sarwar advocated at a Fabian Society meeting in July 2022.

Speaking after Scottish Labour’s disastrous results in the Holyrood elections in May – down from 22 to 17 MSPs – Sarwar stressed that he would not be stepping down as Scottish Labour leader.

He intended “absolutely” to remain in the post of party leader. He had “a job to do, and intend(ed) doing it.” That job was to “hold his party together” and to “hold the Scottish government to account”. His proud boast was that he was the longest-serving leader of any Scottish political party.

Sarwar struck the same theme in an e-mail sent to Scottish Labour members after the election debacle: “We are hurting as a Party tonight and I see it as my job now to hold us together, as we regroup and chart the course ahead.

A few weeks late, on Tuesday 21 July, it turned out that Sarwar was quitting the post of Scottish Labour leader, quitting Holyrood, taking a seat in the House of Lords, and taking up a new role as Business Minister in the UK government.

Scottish Labour members learnt of this volte face not from an announcement by Donald Dewar House (Scottish Labour head office) or by Sarwar himself but from an “exclusive” in the Scottish Daily Record.

It was not until the following evening that Sarwar e-mailed Scottish Labour members to tell them what the rest of the world know already: “I wanted to be in touch this evening to share some important news with you personally…”

Sarwar’s e-mail boasted: “I am hugely proud of what we have achieved together since I became Leader of the Scottish Labour Party… The Scottish Labour Party has an extraordinary range of talent among our MSPs, our elected representatives and our members.”

Sarwar must have an odd idea of what counts as an “achievement” to be “proud of”.

Scottish Labour’s representation at Holyrood is now at a record low. A recent Scottish Labour membership report revealed membership to be less than 12,000, and predominantly male, pale and stale. Another record low. And many Scottish CLPs are moribund.

The rank hypocrisy of Sarwar’s resignation and acceptance of a seat in the House of Lords further undermines Scottish Labour’s credibility (insofar as it still has any). The SNP and Scottish Greens have not missed that open goal.

Sarwar’s embrace of pelf and place comes in the midst of an internal Scottish Labour review of its Holyrood election campaign. The reason given to members for Sawar’s non-attendance at the regional online meetings has been: “Anas is not here because he does not want anyone to feel inhibited in what they say.”

But given that Sarwar obviously knew of his appointment to the House of Lords, the reason for his non-attendance can better be summed up as: “Anas doesn’t care. He’s got a place in the House of Lords. So long, suckers!”