Labour gloats that SNP meltdown will make it ‘easier’ for Keir Starmer to get into Downing Street at the next general election
- Scottish leader Anas Sarwar says Nicola Sturgeon’s departure will boost Labour
Labour is boasting that Nicola Sturgeon’s departure as SNP leader makes it ‘easier’ for Sir Keir Starmer to enter Downing Street.
The party’s Scottish leader, Anas Sarwar, claimed none of the three candidates to replace Ms Sturgeon was of the same ‘calibre’ as the departing First Minister.
This afternoon, either Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes or former community safety minister Ash Regan will be named the new SNP leader.
They will then officially replace Ms Sturgeon as Scotland’s First Minister.
Mr Sarwar hailed how Ms Sturgeon’s departure after eight years in office would help deliver a Labour government at Westminster headed by Sir Keir.
But he insisted there would be ‘no deals with the SNP’ in order for the nationalist party to prop up a Labour miniority government in the House of Commons.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar boasted Nicola Sturgeon’s departure as SNP leader makes it ‘easier’ for Sir Keir Starmer to enter Downing Street
Mr Sarwar insisted there would be ‘no deals with the SNP’ in order for the nationalist party to prop up a Labour miniority government in the House of Commons
The Scottish Labour leader claimed none of the three SNP candidates to replace Ms Sturgeon was of the same ‘calibre’ as the departing First Minister
Speaking to the Telegraph’s ‘Chopper’s Politics’ podcast, Mr Sarwar claimed the SNP was ‘in turmoil’ amid the party’s divisive contest to choose Ms Sturgeon’s successor.
But he warned his own party ‘can’t just wait for the wheels to come off the SNP bus and assume that means people automatically shift to Labour’.
Looking forward to the next general election, Mr Sarwar stressed predictions that ‘Red Wall’ seats in the north of England would determine the outcome were misplaced.
‘A lot of the UK general election debate focuses on the Red Wall… people think the Red Wall is going to decide the next election,’ he said.
‘When you think Red Wall you have to think Scotland – Scotland is going to decide the next general election, not just the Red Wall in the north of England.’
Mr Sarwar boasted that ‘Scotland will lead the way in helping to deliver a UK-wide Labour government’.
He added: ‘Nicola Sturgeon leaving actually makes it in some ways easier for us to achieve a UK Labour government.’
The Scottish Labour leader suggested that none of the contenders to replace Ms Sturgeon were ‘anywhere near the calibre’ of the outgoing First Minister as a politician.
‘Even the biggest critic, or indeed the biggest supporter, of Nicola Sturgeon would say these three candidates are not in her league,’ he added.
‘They’re nowhere near as able, they’re nowhere near as able, they’re nowhere near as good communicators.
‘Instead you’ve got three candidates who seem to be having a race to the bottom in terms of who can criticise and distance themselves from the SNP the most.’
Mr Sarwar also reiterated Sir Keir’s stance that there would be no deals with the SNP should Labour need the party’s support at Westminster in order to form a UK government.
Either Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf, Finance Secretary Kate Forbes or former community safety minister Ash Regan will be named the new SNP leader
Last summer, Sir Keir was forced to rule out ever doing a deal with the SNP after the Tories revived their warnings of a ‘coalition of chaos’ governing the UK.
If the next election results in a hung Parliament – with the Conservatives continuing to trail Labour in the polls – the SNP could be left as kingmakers at Westminster.
Sir Keir might then have a choice between trying to govern as a minority Labour administration, or to strike a deal with the SNP – and possibly the Liberal Democrats as well – to prop up a Labour government.
The SNP would likely demand a new Scottish independence referendum as the price of a deal with Labour.
But Mr Sarwar said: ‘No ifs, no buts, no deals with the SNP.
‘A direct challenge to the new SNP leader is; we’re going all out for a Labour majority government, but if we fall short of that and we have the opportunity to form a minority government, the SNP face a clear choice.
‘They can either vote in a Labour government, or they can vote in a Tory government.
‘And I dare Kate Forbes or Humza Yousaf to vote in a Tory government and we can see how Scotland reacts.’
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