SCOTTISH LABOUR LEADER ANAS SARWAR: WE’LL DO BETTER
Scotish Labour leader Anas Sarwar
Anas Sarwar took charge of Scottish Labour yesterday and, in his first speech as leader, admitted his party had not been good enough and vowed that would change.
The MSP, elected leader of the Scottish Labour Party after winning 57.6% of the vote, said: “I want to say directly to the people of Scotland, I know Labour has a lot of work to do to win back your trust.
“Because, if we’re brutally honest, you haven’t had the Scottish Labour Party you deserve. With rising injustice, inequality and division, I’m sorry we haven’t been good enough. I will work day and night to change that, so we can build the country we all need.”
The Glasgow politician defeated the party’s health spokeswoman Monica Lennon, who won 42.4% of votes cast, in the two candidate race to take charge.
Mr Sarwar, the first person from an ethnic minority background to lead a UK party, said his election was “the greatest honour of my life”.
With just 10 weeks before May’s Holyrood election, Mr Sarwar takes the reins of a party third in the polls, with the latest Ipsos Mori survey putting Labour at 15% in the constituency vote and 14% in the regions.
In his video message, Mr Sarwar hailed iconic Labour leaders from Keir Hardie and Donald Dewar to Gordon Brown as inspirations, adding: “Our party’s history was founded on the strength of the Scottish people and that is where its future lies too.”
He said Scottish Labour must step back from never ending arguments over independence and instead, in the forthcoming Scottish elections, make the case for a parliament of recovery after the pandemic.
UK Labour leader Keir Starmer sent his congratulations, saying: “We will fight the Scottish parliamentary elections by making the case for a socially just Scotland in a modern United Kingdom. Under his leadership, Scottish Labour will focus on what unites us – not what divides us.”
Sarwar, a former dentist, who is married to wife Furheen, and a dad of three, succeeded his father Mohammad, the UK’S first Muslim MP, in holding the Glasgow Central seat for Labour between 2010 and 2015, before becoming an MSP in 2016. He stood for the Scottish Labour leadership in 2017 but lost to Richard Leonard. His election, as the first person from an ethnic minority to lead a UK party, was a testament to Scotland, Mr Sarwar said.
“Today we have elected the first- ever ethnic minority leader of a political party in the Uk.that doesn’t say something about me. That says something great about Scotland and its people. But the fight for equality is far from over.
“I’ll work with all our diverse communities in Scotland to rebuild the country we love.”
Mr Sarwar concluded: “I’m determined the Labour Party I lead will always be on your side. Because I will be a leader who focuses on what unites our country – not what divides it. Together we will build a better future for Scotland.”
Ms Lennon congratulated the new leader and thanked her campaign staff while issuing a call for party unity: “Proud to have been part of this positive leadership debate. Let’s get out there as a united team.”
In the coming weeks, Mr Sarwar said, he would lay out his vision for a “Covid recovery parliament” following the next election, which would focus on tackling the impact of Covid across society. Mr Sarwar has repeatedly voiced his opposition to another independence referendum while his opponent in the race said it was important the party did not “deny democracy”.
First minister ni cola sturgeon also sent congratulations on Twitter to the new Labour leader: “Congratulations to Anas Sarwar – he (and his dad before him) and I are long-time political opponents, but I also like and rate him. That may not always be obvious in the weeks ahead as election battle is joined, so worth saying so now.”
Lady Gaga’s two French bulldogs have been found safe and unharmed after being stolen at gunpoint, police in Los Angeles said.
The pop and movie superstar offered a £ 350,000 reward for their return after her dog walker, Ryan Fischer, was shot in the heist in Hollywood on Wednesday. He is expected to make a full recovery.
A third dog, Miss Asia, had ran off during the shooting incident but the two stolen bulldogs, Koji and Gustav were handed in at the LAPD’S Olympic Community Police Station. Captain Jonathan Tippet, commanding officer of the LAPD’S robbery-homicide division, said: “I can confirm that the dogs have been located and are safe.”
The woman who dropped off the dogs appears to be “uninvolved and unassociated” with the robbery. Lady Gaga is in Rome where she is shooting a film but she had earlier pleaded for the dogs’ return as “an act of kindness”.
The Royal Mail is trialling a new uniform for its postmen and postwomen, saying it was designed to better reflect the modern delivery round.
The new-look uniform, the first change in more than a decade, retains Royal Mail’s red colour, and includes walking trousers and shorts, tops, jackets, gilets and headwear.
The new look has been based on feedback from postmen and postwomen across the UK.
The designs will be trialled for 12 weeks on a range of delivery rounds across the UK and, if successful, they will replace the current uniforms.
Ricky Mcaulay, Royal Mail field operations director, said: “Royal Mail postmen and postwomen are at the heart of the communities in which they work across the UK.
“Their highly recognisable red uniforms help cement this relationship of trust with our customers.
“We worked closely with our people to come up with these designs which are poised to help them in their highly physical jobs.”