Anas Sarwar, who led Scottish Labour to its poorest electoral performance since devolution a little over two months ago, is now poised to become a minister in Andy Burnham’s government.
The Glasgow MSP will vacate his seat in Holyrood and relinquish his leadership of Scottish Labour, taking a seat in the House of Lords.
It comes more than five years after the former dentist took over the leadership of the party north of the border in February 2021.
His departure from the Scottish Parliament will see former MSP Monica Lennon, whom Mr Sarwar defeated in that leadership contest, reclaim a seat in Holyrood through the regional list system.
This elevation to the Lords, however, contradicts Mr Sarwar's previous insistence that he would not join the upper chamber should Labour lose the Holyrood election in May.
Asked about such a prospect, Mr Sarwar said he was “focused on being first minister of this great country”.
It also comes less than six months after he called for Sir Keir Starmer to quit as prime minister, making the plea back in February when he complained there had been “too many mistakes” by the government at Westminster.
With Sir Keir now out of government, Mr Sarwar hailed “the bold Labour vision from the new Prime Minister”.
Posting on social media on Monday, he added: “Let’s get to work.”
End rough sleeping.
— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) July 20, 2026
Tackle the cost of living.
Bring back hope.
A bold Labour vision from the new Prime Minister.
Let’s get to work.
That work it seems will see him now join Mr Burnham’s ministerial team, leaving Scottish Labour looking for a new leader.
In his five years in the role, Mr Sarwar had worked to transform his party, and in the Scottish election sought to oust John Swinney and the SNP from power at Holyrood.
However Labour ended up with 17 MSPs, the lowest number the party has had since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999 – with Mr Sarwar conceding they “didn’t win the argument” in the election.
He was first elected to Holyrood just over a decade ago in May 2016, representing the Glasgow region.
That came after he lost his seat at Westminster in 2015, when a landslide victory for the SNP saw them take all but three of the seats north of the border in the general election.
With Mr Sarwar stepping down as Scottish Labour leader, Jackie Baillie, the party’s current Scottish deputy leader, will serve as interim leader until a replacement is found.
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