Anas Sarwar has warned Keir Starmer to up Labour’s game across the UK if the party is to get into government.
In a blunt message not to neglect the lessons from the party’s decline in Scotland, Sarwar challenged Labour to present a credible alternative to “the muscular Unionism of the Tories and the blindfold nationalism of the SNP”.
Speaking to the Daily Record after two days of talks with Labour figures in London, Sarwar said: “I’ve said directly to Labour MPs, and to the shadow cabinet, that the first red wall to fall was in Scotland - not the north of England.”
“Unless they recognise that, until we get Labour back on the pitch again in Scotland, credible again, there is no route back to a UK Labour government.”
“Now, it is on me to fix the Scottish Labour party - but what also helps is a UK Labour party that people believe will win a general election. They have work to do to get Labour into a position to do that.”
He added: “My message to the party, and to the country, is don’t repeat the mistakes that were made by Scottish Labour over the last number of years."
"Labour across the UK cannot win by creating our own version of ‘us versus them’ that turns half the country against the other half, like the SNP and the Tories have done.”
With Labour some ten points behind the Conservatives in UK-wide polling, and third in May’s Holyrood election, Sarwar was frank about the challenge for Starmer and himself.
He said: “Getting a hearing from voters is about big ideas, about hope and equality, but about emotions too. I recognise we have a huge task to do on that. I have a personal duty to give people in Scotland the Labour party they deserve, that is on me to make that happen but we need UK Labour to do better as well.”
He added: “The muscular Unionism of Boris Johnson and the blindfolded nationalism of the SNP does not work. We have got to build a credible alternative to the SNP and the Tories, It has to be a positive, outward lookimg, unified and authentic message to voters.”
Sarwar said part of the solution for Labour was to embrace devolution of power from Westminster and Edinburgh.
He said: “Labour was the party of devolution but have not really been comfortable with the issue, We’ve got to get to these people in Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Dundee who are disconnected with the Tories by pushing power out of Westminster and Edinburgh.”
The Scottish leader name-checked Labour's Manchester mayor Andy Burnham as an example of a city leader standing up for local electors.
Sarwar insisted that Starmer “gets devolution” and was not backing Burnham as a rival leader by naming him as an example of how Labour could lead on devolution.
He said: “Take the politics and personalities out of that spat with Nicola Sturgeon over lockdown and ask yourself why we don’t have the same kind of champion for Glasgow to challenge the Scottish government to get a fair deal for local people and businesses? That was a living example of how we have to push power out of the monolithic parliaments in Edinburgh and Westminster.”
Speaking as Boris Johnson was on the ropes in the Commons over accusations that he fostered division by not backing the England squad’s anti-racism stance, Sarwar said it fell to Labour to present an alternative view of Englishness and British identity.
He said: "The SNP and Nicola Sturgeon would love people to think that England is Boris Johnson and Priti Patel. In fact England is more Gareth Southgate and Raheem Sterling, diverse, outward looking, not scared of confronting the big scars in our society.”
One of the big challenges for Labour is framing what Global Britain is. It is not inward-looking, angry, culture wars Britain. We defeat that by being outward-looking and international and positive and that is what Labour should be. We have to build that credible alternative.”
Sarwar said he talked to Starmer about about covid recovery, reviving the Scottish party and challenging nationalism and the Tories.
The message he gave the UK Labour leader on SNP demands for a second independence referendum was stark too.
Sarwar said: “I don’t support independence, I don’t support a referendum, that’s pretty clear. Keir wants to be Prime Minister of a United Kingdom and . I want Keir Starmer to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Labour can only credibly speak for all parts of Great Britain if that is the way forward for him”
