Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar stands by call for Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar says he stands by his call for Sir Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister.

Speaking on Scotland Tonight: Meet the Leaders, Sarwar said the Prime Minister will not be part of his party’s Holyrood campaign.

In February, Sarwar called for Starmer to go saying the “distraction needs to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change”.

On Scotland Tonight, the Scottish Labour leader said: “I made my view clear on that day and I do stand by it, I don’t recoil from it but my focus now and every day over the next four weeks is to recognise that we need a change in Bute House and a new first minister.

“I stand by it but this election is not about Keir Starmer – it’s not about Westminster. I know other politicians want to make it about a party that’s been in government for two years somewhere else rather than an SNP government that’s been in government for 20 years and I’m going to make this election about my country Scotland because we need a new government here.

“I understand the disappointment, but two years of one government is not a reason to give a free pass to a party that’s been in power for 20 years.”

Health

On health, Sarwar said he would declare a national waiting‑times emergency if his party wins the election.

He said: “What that will mean in practice is we will buy up capacity wherever it exists in Scotland so people can access that treatment free in the NHS as they should expect rather than lots of people currently being forced to pay for example £12,000 for their hip replacements.

“We will also change the rules so a patient if they’re willing to travel anywhere else in the UK for example to another health board the money will follow the patient so they can get that treatment more quickly somewhere else.”

Scottish Labour also plans to reduce the number of health boards to three, cutting the number of chief executives and directors, and redirecting resources to hire more doctors and nurses.

Sarwar said: “We will also reform our NHS. So right now, with layer after layer of bureaucracy and management where the resources are going there – instead we’ll have fewer chief executives and finance directors – and more doctors, nurses and more treatments.

“We will also bring our NHS finally into the 21st century by having an NHS app and using AI scanners for faster treatment and diagnosis.”

He continued: “People can’t access a GP appointment, many more people are presenting at A&E, that’s why we’ll end the 8am rush for a GP, we’ll bring back the family doctor and we’ll do that by renegotiating the GP contract.”

Higher Education

When asked about the funding model for higher education, given the number of cuts being made at Scottish universities, Sarwar said he would maintain free tuition fees.

“We will maintain free university tuition and I actually think for many university graduates they are getting the support they need but quite often though when they come out of university the jobs aren’t there. For example we know of lots of teaching graduates who graduate from teaching but then can’t get a full-time contract, that’s why we will change the way the local government is funded.”

He added: “Our colleges and our apprentice sector have also been neglected and for so many young people the route to employment is through college or an apprenticeship so we’ll have 9,000 new apprenticeships and we’ll partner with businesses and with colleges so every young person gets a chance to succeed.”

Independence

On the prospect of another independence referendum Sarwar said: “I don’t support a referendum but my appeal to people right now is I’m not asking people to change their mind on independence. I’m making my own view clear but right now we can do so much more to make Scotland a better place and that’s the appeal I make.

“Let’s work together right now to make Scotland stronger to fix the mess and get the basics right to build a better future.”

On his chances of winning

Despite trailing the SNP in the polls, Sarwar believes he can still be first minister.

He pointed to his party’s success in last year’s Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election where they gained the seat from the SNP.

Sarwar said: “Yes I do [believe I can win]. There have been three polls in the last few days – two have shown Scottish Labour up and one poll has shown Scottish Labour down.

“Let’s not forget four weeks out from the general election polls were suggesting that Labour was going to win eight seats or 12 seats in the general election, yet we won 37 seats. So my job is not to live off polls, my job is to persuade people in this country.”

Scotland Tonight: Meet the Leaders continues next Thursday, April 16.