Anas Sarwar Quits Scottish Labour to Join Burnham Government, Leaving Party to Pick 11th Leader
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 22
Anas Sarwar Quits Scottish Labour to Join Burnham Government, Leaving Party to Pick 11th Leader
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Jul 22
Summary
Anas Sarwar stepped down as Scottish Labour leader to become a minister in Andy Burnham's government, reversing his recent pledge to stay on after May's Holyrood defeat.
17 MSPs are now left to choose Scottish Labour's 11th leader since devolution, with deputy Jackie Baillie taking acting charge while likely contenders include Michael Marra, Monica Lennon, Daniel Johnson and Paul Sweeney.
Sarwar's exit has stirred criticism inside Labour because it follows the party's worst Scottish Parliament result since devolution and comes with a House of Lords appointment despite his past opposition to taking a peerage.
The resignation also deepens a wider argument over Scottish Labour's direction after the SNP's fifth straight Holyrood win, including strategy, policy and even whether the party should loosen ties with UK Labour.