Wes Streeting: No one can accuse Sarwar of being branch manager now
Two UK government ministers say the entire Labour Party still wants to see Anas Sarwar becoming the next First Minister, despite calling for the Prime Minister to resign.
UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting says no one can accuse Anas Sarwar of being a branch manager after he called for the Prime Minister to resign.
Mr Streeting said he does not agree with the Scottish Labour leader’s comments, but said the intervention proves “he is his own man”.
This comes after Mr Sarwar called for Sir Keir Starmer to step down as Prime Minister following the Peter Mandelson scandal. Almost immediately after his comments, the majority of the UK Cabinet came out in support of the Prime Minister.
When asked by The Scotsman if Mr Sarwar was right or wrong to make these comments, Mr Streeting said: “Obviously I don’t agree with Anas, but I think no one can accuse him of being the branch manager in Scottish Labour.
“He’s his own man, he says it as he sees it.
“Regardless, we’ve got the best leader the Scottish Labour Party has had since Donald Dewar and the founding of the modern Scottish Parliament.
“I think he’s dynamic, I think he has ambition for Scotland and I think he has the vision that Scotland needs after 20 years of SNP failure.”
This was echoed by Scottish Minister Kirsty McNeill, who praised him as “his own man”.
Speaking to The Scotsman at Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh, she said: “Anas Sarwar is his own man, as I’m my own woman.
“We disagree about this.
“I don’t support the call he made, but he is his own man and believes it was in the best interests of the country he loves.
“The only thing that matters is there is not a single person in the Labour Party doing anything other than working night and day to make sure Anas Sarwar is our next First Minister.”
When asked if he spoke to Mr Sarwar before or after his announcement, Mr Streeting said: “I do speak to Anas and far more regularly to [deputy leader] Jackie Baillie and her team.
“We obviously don’t agree about where the Prime Minister is, but the support for Anas and his election campaign has not changed one iota as a result of the intervention he made.
“No one down south wants Anas Sarwar to become First Minister more than the Prime Minister.
“We are absolutely rooting for Anas and Scottish Labour because I think Scotland will be better served having two Labour governments working together.”
He added most voters are still undecided ahead of the May election, and those are the people who are going to decide the outcome of the vote.
The latest poll suggests the SNP will remain the largest party in Holyrood on May 7, but will fall short of the 65-seat majority John Swinney has his eye on. This week an Ipsos poll predicted Scottish Labour would come second, the first poll in months to place them above Reform UK.
Mr Streeting said: “There is a solid base of residual support for the SNP and people who will vote SNP come what may, but I think there are a lot of people in Scotland who are feeling let down, disappointed, and are desperate to see a change in the quality and impact of the government in Scotland, and I think only Scottish Labour can deliver that.
“There are two credible choices that can emerge as First Minister - there is analogue John who is about as exciting as a wet weekend and frankly has been a big part of so much of the SNP’s failure over the years, and Anas Sarwar who is fresh, dynamic and has a different vision for Scotland.
“I know Reform are making a lot of noise up here, just as they are down south, and there may be some unionist voters who might be tempted, but they need to be careful what they wish for.
“Reform would dismantle the NHS. Nigel Farage says he wants an insurance-based system, which is alright for Mr Moneybags, he could probably afford the insurance premiums, but most people can’t.”
The SNP has dismissed Mr Streeting’s comments, saying he and Mr Sarwar are “caught up in the Peter Mandelson scandal” and are “desperate” to turn public opinion around before the May election.
A spokesperson for the SNP said: “While the Labour Party is plagued with scandal and fighting, John Swinney’s trusted leadership is focused on the priorities of the people of Scotland - be that our NHS or the cost-of-living crisis.
“Let’s not forget it was Wes Streeting who left his partner-in-crime Anas Sarwar hung out to dry after his botched leadership coup of Keir Starmer - the pair of them are caught up in the Peter Mandelson scandal and these desperate comments are a reflection of that.”
They added: “Poll after poll shows momentum is firmly with the SNP with a majority within touching distance so it would be wise for Wes Streeting to take a steep back and focus on his strike-ridden NHS in England.
“Voters in Scotland will be having a chuckle at this hopeless double act giving anybody advice, but it’s this sort of patronising nonsense that means more and more Scots are concluding they want a fresh start with independence.”
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