ANYONE looking to find division between Scottish and UK Labour will have a “long, long search”, Sir Keir Starmer has claimed despite several divergences recently.
The party north and south of the Border has expressed different positions in recent months, particularly around the two-child benefit cap and gender reforms.
Last month, Starmer would not commit to scrapping the benefit cap – which disallows benefits being claimed on more than two children unless the third can be proved to have been conceived through rape – if his party won the next election, citing economic uncertainty.
But the following day, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party disagreed with the policy, and insisted would “press” a UK Labour Government to drop it.
In December, Scottish Labour also backed plans – which were ultimately blocked by the UK Government – for Scotland to move to a system of self-identification for transgender people, removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
Last month, Starmer described the move as “not the right way forward”, however, Michael Shanks, the Labour candidate in the upcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, said he backed the “de-medicalisation” of the process.
Speaking during a visit to Edinburgh on Monday, the Labour leader played down any assertions of a split between the two parties.
“Anas and I have got a very, very strong working relationship,” he said.
“So anybody who’s trying to find division is going to have a very, very long search.
“We obviously talk about these issues a great deal.”
Starmer went on to say his party, if it were to win the keys to Downing Street at the next election, would implement an “anti-poverty strategy” that would not “simply be a question of welfare benefits”.
“I want to grow our economy and give everybody, including in Scotland and elsewhere, the opportunity to be part of that growing economy,” he said.
He also responded to comments from First Minister Humza Yousaf at an Edinburgh Festival Fringe show that a minority Labour government would be “the best outcome for Scotland”.
The Labour leader said: “I want a majority Labour government so that we can fix and rebuild our country and take our country forward, so that’s what I’m aiming for.
“I’m not going to do a deal with the SNP, and among the reasons for that is the appalling record they’ve got in Government.
“So my ambition is to actually drive Britain forward to that better future that I’m absolutely convinced that we can achieve.”
The SNP’s Rutherglen and Hamilton West candidate Katy Loudon said finding differences between Scottish and UK Labour "only takes seconds", adding that suggesting otherwise is "ludicrous".
“Some Scottish Labour figures have come out in strong opposition to Starmer’s pro-austerity and pro-two child cap policies, but their appeals have repeatedly fallen on deaf ears, proving that Anas Sarwar holds no real influence."
She went on: “And strong words from senior Scottish Labour figures mean nothing while their MPs and candidates gleefully sign up to voting through Starmer’s Tory-replica agenda in the House of Commons.
“The views of the branch office are clearly secondary to Keir Starmer’s desire to prop up the Tories’ punishing welfare agenda and damaging Brexit.
“It’s abundantly clear there’s no real difference between Labour and the Tories. Only the SNP offers a real alternative. With the full powers of independence we can reverse Westminster’s damaging policies and rid ourselves of governments we don’t elect for good.”
Alba Party General Secretary Chris McEleny added the splits between Sarwar and Starmer were evident.
“The split between the Red Sea of Scottish and London Labour is so wide it would make Moses proud," he said.
“However, unfortunately for the people of Scotland, the Scottish Labour branch office is completely toothless when it comes to making a difference.
"If London Labour want to renew weapons of mass destruction and take us to illegal wars then that is what Scotland will get.
"If Scottish Labour want to scrap Tory policies but Keir Starmer’s Labour want to keep the Bedroom Tax or the two-child cap because it appeals to the south east of England, then that’s what Scots will get for as long as we are ruled by Westminster.
“It’s no wonder then that in 2014 there was a mass exodus of Labour support as people across Scotland woke up to the empty promises of the Labour Party."
