Anas Sarwar and Andy Burnham face backlash for diminishing Scottish Labour leader role

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY, SCOTTISH DAILY MAIL POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 19:33, 23 July 2026 | Updated: 19:33, 23 July 2026 Anas Sarwar and Andy Burnham have faced a backlash for giving the impression that a junior role as Trade Minister is a better job than Scottish Labour leader. Labour activists raised concerns about how it looked to the public when Mr Sarwar walked away from his job to take up a lowly role in the UK Government. Duncan Hothersall, an activist who edits the Labour Hame website, criticised the protracted period between it first being revealed Mr Sarwar would quit and it finally being confirmed late on Wednesday. He also told BBC Radio Scotland: ‘The bigger issue is the message it is sending that essentially the first notable thing Andy Burnham has done in terms of Scotland is to effectively put a junior minister of trade as a promotion from the position of leader of Scottish Labour. It’s a terrible, terrible bit of optics.’ He said there was a strong feeling that Mr Sarwar should have stepped down after the Holyrood election in May, when his party fell to just 17 MSPs. But he claimed people had come to terms with him remaining in post only to now be ‘blindsided’ by his decision to depart. Cat Headley, a former Scottish Labour election candidate, said: ‘The timing of all this is sub-optimal, to say the least.’ Anas Sarwar posted a picture of himself on social media starting his new role Mr Sarwar, the first major Labour figure to demand Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation, is also facing questions about when he was promised a role by Mr Burnham. SNP Westminster leader Dave Doogan said: ‘Andy Burnham has started a full-scale civil war in Scottish Labour – he now needs to fess up to the growing suspicion that there was a pre-planned plot to put Anas Sarwar in the House of Lords.’ Meanwhile, Michael Marra, Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman, has secured the backing of a former MSP to launch a leadership bid following Sarwar’s resignation. Paul O’Kane, who was education spokesman in Mr Sarwar’s frontbench team prior to losing out in May’s elections, backed him to take the top job. Mr Marra, MSP for North East Scotland, has also secured the support of celebrity chef Nick Nairn. Mr O’Kane told BBC Radio Scotland the party must look to the future as it considers Mr Sarwar’s replacement. He said: ‘Michael Marra obviously is a name that has been put out there as a frontrunner. ‘I’ve known Michael for many, many years and worked with him closely, he is clearly someone who is credible and serious and has a lot to offer.’ Mr O’Kane highlighted that former leadership contender Monica Lennon and Glasgow MSP Paul Sweeney have also indicated that they are considering whether to stand.  Pressed on who he would back, he said: ‘Michael Marra and I have worked closely together and I think he can move our party forward.’