Sarwar launches Labour’s campaign for the next General Election

ANAS Sarwar launched Scottish Labour’s General Election campaign yesterday, insisting his party was set to form the next government.

Although no date has been set for a new Westminster vote, and there’s no legal requirement to hold one until May 2024, there’s fairly widespread speculation Britain could go to the polls next year.

Reports last month claimed staff in Downing Street had been told to start planning for a possible campaign in the autumn of next year.

Mr Sarwar was in Easterhouse, in the North East Glasgow ward, where at last week’s local elections Labour narrowly gained a councillor at the expense of the SNP.

His campaign launch was overshadowed by the furore surrounding the so-called Beergate affair and reports that Sir Keir Starmer would stand down if found to have broken strict Covid rules at a gathering of activists in Durham in April last year.

Mr Sarwar said it was a “false equivalence” to compare the Labour leader’s actions with those of Prime Minister Boris Johnson .

Asked specifically if he thought Sir Keir would lead

Labour into that campaign, he replied: “Absolutely.”

He added: “And the next electoral contest in Scotland is going to be not a referendum, it’s going to be a General Election.”

“And we’re going to start that campaign right now. And build a coalition of the people across this country to boot Boris out of Downing Street.

“That’s a coalition of the people not a coalition of political parties. We’re clear: no ifs no buts, no deals with the SNP.”

Last week’s council election saw Labour gain 20 seats, pushing them into second place, ahead of the Scottish Conservatives.

In his speech, Mr Sarwar said it was “great” that Labour was now in second place, but that the party aspired to being in first.

He said the SNP feared a “Scottish Labour recovery.”

Mr Sarwar said: “So let’s be clear what the choice now is in Scotland.

“The choice in Scotland now is not between a corrupt, out-of-touch Conservative Party and a weak, divisive SNP.

“The choice in Scotland is now clear. It’s either a divisive, out-of-touch, growing-more-and-more-arrogant-by-the-day SNP versus a future-looking, positive, hopeful, unified Labour Party.”

Mr Sarwar said the SNP could “only oppose the Tories”.

“While other parties aspire to send a message to Boris Johnson only Keir Starmer and the Labour Party can replace Boris Johnson.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “Scottish Labour need to respect democracy – whether that’s at local level or at national level, where there is a cast-iron mandate for an independence referendum. Until or unless that happens they will continue their slide into being irrelevant in Scottish politics.”