Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader who triggered a political near-death experience for Keir Starmer by publicly calling on him to resign in February, is now set to join Andy Burnham’s government as a minister – via a seat in the House of Lords.
Sarwar will leave the Scottish Parliament and stand down as leader, with deputy Jackie Baillie expected to step in temporarily. His appointment, thought to be as a business minister under Jonathan Reynolds at the revamped Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, means he will swap Holyrood for Westminster just months after insisting he planned to stay on.
“Scottish Labour leader who called for Starmer to quit set for Lords ministerial role under Burnham.”
In May, when asked if he would ever take a Lords seat, Sarwar said: “No. I’m focused on being first minister of this great country.” After Starmer’s resignation in June, he stated: “That is my intention… I’m hungry for the fight ahead and I want to play my full part in making sure this country never ends up in the hands of Nigel Farage and Reform.”
The SNP’s deputy leader, Keith Brown, condemned the move: “This is a terrible look for Andy Burnham who waxed lyrical about a new politics and devolving power – he’s just pulled the most undemocratic trick in the Westminster book… Anas Sarwar led Scottish Labour to their worst ever election defeat, but as is always the case with the Labour Party, there’s always a cushty number in the House of Lords.”
Sarwar’s promotion places him alongside other former Starmer critics now in Burnham’s cabinet, including Miatta Fahnbulleh (energy secretary), Ed Miliband (foreign secretary), John Healey (chancellor) and Wes Streeting (defence secretary). But it has reopened wounds among loyalists. Steve Reed, the former communities secretary and a staunch defender of Starmer, wrote to Burnham as he left government: “I hope those who did not show loyalty to Keir will now show it to you. I am proud that I acted with integrity at every step over the turbulent past few months.”
The public intervention of Darren Jones, another Starmer loyalist, who took a swipe at the funding of the government’s planned VAT cut on domestic electricity bills, underscores the lingering resentment. As Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, notes, these remarks are “an indicator of the wells of private hurt and anger created by the events of recent days, weeks and months.”
Sarwar, who has led Scottish Labour since 2021, saw his party win just 17 of 129 seats in the Holyrood election in May. His departure leaves a leadership vacancy – and no by-election for his regional list seat.
