Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar in 'desperate' new bid to distance himself from under-fire Prime Minister Keir Starmer

By TOM GORDON, DEPUTY SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 21:19, 20 April 2026 | Updated: 21:19, 20 April 2026 Voting for Scottish Labour is ‘not an endorsement of Keir Starmer’, Anas Sarwar claimed as he tried to distance himself even further from the Prime Minister. The Scottish Labour leader told union bosses there were ‘too many mistakes’ by Labour at Westminster but insisted it should not a factor in the Holyrood election. With polls continuing to show Labour badly trailing the SNP and often behind Reform UK, Mr Sarwar pleaded with voters not to use May 7 as a ‘protest’ against his party. The Scottish Conservatives branded him ‘desperate’. Mr Sarwar made his comments in his main hall address to the STUC congress in Dundee. He said he was proud that Scotland had helped unseat the last Tory government. ‘But I also know that people have frustrations and disappointments, and I share them,’ he said. ‘There are many good things, but also too many mistakes. ‘So let me be clear, a vote for Scottish Labour in this election is not an endorsement of Keir Starmer. It’s about who is First Minister. Anas Sarwar is trying to distance himself even further from the Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘It’s not about two years of a Labour government, but 20 years of an SNP government. ‘It’s not about a protest. It’s about delivering the change the working people in Scotland need right now.’ Mr Sarwar called for Sir Keir to quit in February over the Peter Mandelson scandal, which he called a ‘tipping point’, and has not spoken to him since. In a sign of their shattered relationship, Sir Keir visited Faslane at the weekend but did not meet Mr Sarwar. Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘Anas Sarwar’s desperate attempt to disown Keir Starmer is fooling no-one. ‘Scots know that the Scottish Labour leader helped install this dud PM in Downing Street, so he doesn’t get to wash his hands of the countless broken promises and U-turns that have followed. ‘If it’s the Mandelson scandal that finally brings Starmer’s disastrous Premiership to an end, the public won’t forget that it was Anas Sarwar who described the disgraced peer as “my old friend”.’ Speaking later to the media, Mr Sarwar said: ‘I get that people are frustrated with Keir Starmer. I share that frustration. ‘But a vote for Labour in this election is not going to be used by me or anybody else as an endorsement of Keir Starmer. ‘It’s a vote to change the government here in Scotland, to reject the poison of Reform and to change Scotland after 20 years of SNP government.’ Asked if this should be Sir Keir’s last week in office, Mr Sarwar said: ‘There are people who will have to make those decisions and those judgments. People know my view.’ SNP campaign director Angus Robertson said: ‘We were told by Anas Sarwar that Keir Starmer was the “real change” people in Scotland needed as he stood shoulder to shoulder with him through every disastrous decision he made.’ Earlier, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, who is co-chair of Scottish Labour’s Holyrood campaign, cast doubt on Sir Keir leading Labour into the next election. He told Sky News there were ‘no certainties’, but added: ‘I think he will lead and I think he should’. Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay said: ‘For once I agree with Anas Sarwar – that Sir Keir Starmer clearly isn’t fit to be the Prime Minister. ‘If he had a shred of integrity, if he adhered to the same standards he demanded of other people, he would already be packing the bags and leaving Downing Street.’ Mr Sarwar also sparked a row with Reform UK Scotland by claiming ex-MSP Graham Simpson called leader Malcolm Offord ‘useless’ and top candidate Thomas Kerr ‘a weasel’. He claimed Tory defector Mr Simpson made the criticism to him at Holyrood last month. Mr Simpson hotly denied the claims and said Mr Sarwar had ‘lost the plot’. He said: ‘I have never said that about my colleagues.’ A Reform spokesman called it a ‘desperate smear’. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.