Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has refused to pledge full confidence in Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Labour) during a press conference on Thursday. The development comes as Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham hinted at potential future leadership ambitions in interviews with the New Statesman and The Telegraph.
Sarwar, who has been a vocal ally of Starmer since he became party leader, acknowledged the Prime Minister faces significant challenges. "He has got a really difficult job, we have made significant progress in the last year," he said.
Communication failures criticised
The Scottish Labour leader delivered sharp criticism of the government's messaging strategy. "If I've got one single biggest criticism of a UK Labour Government, it is there have been huge successes, but very few people have been told about them or know about them," he said.
Sarwar pointed to concrete economic improvements that remain largely unknown to the public. He cited falling mortgage costs and rising wages over the past 12 months, arguing that the "average person doesn't know" about these developments.
Leadership confidence questioned
When pressed repeatedly on whether he maintains full confidence in the Prime Minister, Sarwar deflected the question. "I think to be even talking in those terms is frankly ridiculous," he said. "This is a Prime Minister who won a historic victory, removed the Tories from office, won a huge landslide, and now he has to get on with the day job."
Sarwar emphasised that voters want to see "how the change is benefiting them and their families". He defended the government's timeframe for delivering results, saying: "It would be unrealistic to think that we're going to solve every problem the country has within 15 months - there was 14 years of complete horror that was left by the Conservatives and we've got to get on with the work of fixing that."
Scottish election focus
With Scotland's election approaching in May 2025, Sarwar shifted focus to his political opponents. When asked whether Starmer is the right person to lead during that campaign, he avoided a direct answer and instead targeted First Minister John Swinney.
"I think John Swinney is the worst person to be in Bute House and we need someone new in Bute House and that will come at the election in May," Sarwar said. When pressed further about Starmer's suitability, he responded: "He is the Prime Minister doing a really important job and he's got to continue to do that job to improve the country."
First Minister John Swinney appeared to welcome Labour's internal tensions, telling journalists: "I'll allow the Labour Party to fall apart as I lead the SNP to the success that we want to deliver." The comments came as a new Ipsos poll showed Starmer has become the most unpopular leader in Scotland, with a net favourability rating of minus 47 per cent - one percentage point worse than US President Donald Trump.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
