Anas Sarwar Vows to Stay as Scottish Labour Leader After Worst-Ever Election Result

Anas Sarwar insisted he will absolutely stay on as Scottish Labour leader, even after his party posted its worst-ever result in a Scottish Parliament election.

Labour lost four seats last week and took just 17 of the 129 available.

Sarwar refused to say how long he would serve as leader or commit to guiding the party into the next election in five years. He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show that his responsibility now is to hold his party together. He pledged to hold the newly elected SNP government to account on its record.

He said he would make sure Scotland has a parliament and a democracy that functions.

Sarwar declined to say if he sees himself leading into the next election. "I've got a job to do and I intend to do it," he added.

In his first interview since Labour lost national elections in Scotland and Wales and suffered huge council losses in England, Sarwar confirmed he stands by his February call for Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to resign. "I said what I said back in February. I am not recoiling from that," he said.

With fresh calls in Labour for Starmer to step down, Sarwar said he tried to keep the campaign focused on Scotland. But there was clearly a national wave that the party tried to overcome and failed to do so.

He called the Scottish result disappointing and hurtful and took full responsibility for the strategy of focusing on constituencies rather than the list vote.

Sarwar also defended campaign co-chairs Jackie Baillie and Douglas Alexander. They did a good job in the election campaign, he said.

His party failed to cut through the national noise, Sarwar said. "This election didn't come down to big ideas. It came down to a big national wave and a general vibe that we couldn't change."

Former Scottish Labour leader Lord (Jack) McConnell, first minister from 2001 to 2007, blamed public disappointment with the UK government and a poor campaign strategy for the performance. In a Sunday Times article, he said the strategy lacked ambition and was never going to galvanise Scottish voters.

"Scottish Labour must develop a vision and plan that inspires," McConnell wrote. He called for radical reform of Scottish local government and the health service.

He suggested Starmer would only survive the devastating results if his government could step up and deliver the scale of change the country craves.

Labour won just 17 of 129 seats in last week's election, down four. Only three came from constituencies, with the rest from regional lists. The party tied with Reform, which also secured 17 seats.

The SNP led with 58 seats but fell short of a majority of 65.

Labour's support collapsed across the UK on Thursday. In Wales, the first minister was among those who lost their seats. The party, in power there for 27 years, dropped 35 seats and held just nine.

She called on the cabinet to put forward their best communicator to replace Starmer.