Can Anas Sarwar save Scottish Labour?

Sixty-eight days out from the next Scottish Parliament election might seem an ill-advised time to change the leader of Scottish Labour. This morning, Glasgow MSP Anas Sarwar was unveiled as the winner of a low-key internal election, defeating Labour’s Holyrood health spokeswoman Monica Lennon by 58 per cent to 42 per cent. The leadership was spilled after the abrupt ‘resignation’ in January of left-winger Richard Leonard following three forgettable years of drift and decline. Labour last won a Westminster election in Scotland in 2010 and a Holyrood one in 2007; in the 2019 European Parliament elections, it came fifth and just 1.1 per cent away from finishing behind the Greens. The polls do not suggest much cheer is on the way on 6 May.

In the wake of Leonard’s departure, I argued that Sarwar was best placed to take the party forward. He is relatively young (37), a practised media performer, rooted in Glasgow politics, and is one of the few opposition MSPs able to make SNP ministers squirm in the Holyrood chamber.