Arise Lord Sarwar
Anas Sarwar, 2022: “The House of Lords, in its current form, as an institution has no place in 21st century politics. It is unacceptable…to have unelected representatives wielding such power.”
Andy Burnham has given a peerage to Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar so he can become a Minister.
Doing what?
Some of this is so predictable, so wearying, so inevitable, it’s mind-numbing.
Let’s see if we can follow the logic?
Andy Burnham, our new democracy-obsessed but unelected PM, has just announced: “I won’t respect democracy in Scotland, so I’m denying you a referendum.” But also: “Lose your seat, deliver Scottish Labour’s worst-ever result, and I’ll put you in the unelected House of Lords.”
Arise Lord Sarwar.
Oh well, he’s back at the beating heart at least.
Make no mistake, Sarwar is being rewarded for putting the knife into Starmer, not for anything he has done for Scotland or Scottish Labour. The House of Lords is now, and has been for a long time, a repository for failed Labour politicians, a complete affront to democracy.
As I said back in March [Labour is Eating Itself – Bella Caledonia] – Sarwar’s campaign failure wasn’t cheap:
“When the final bill for Anas Sarwar’s Fake Zamdani campaign for First Minister comes in, it is likely to be eye-watering. And if opinion polls are correct, a complete waste of money.
Josh Pizzuto-Pomaco over at the Herald reports this week that Scottish Labour were in receipt of £553,635.62 in the fourth quarter of 2025. The big backers were the Easdales (£150,000 cash donation in December) and the wee ones were some unions, GMB (£5,300). If you want another snapshot of where Labour is at, and who it represents, there it is, right there.”
The paucity of the SNP’s ‘strategy’ for independence, if you can even call it that, has been revealed in the first few days of Burnham’s new era, but nothing matches the sheer hypocrisy, the stench of failure that surrounds Scottish Labour. The re-appointment of Douglas Alexander – the co-architect of Scottish Labour’s disastrous showing at the Holyrood election – confirms that there will be no change, and Labour’s efforts will all be about bypassing the Scottish parliament and pretending that their abject failure “the fifth straight thumping at the hands of the Nats” – means nothing at all.
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Excellent!
Why are tax payers not up in arms about these people stealing a wage from the ordinary man and woman on the street?
I cannot but agree.
Scottish Labour increasingly becoming an irrelevance. No doubt Jackie Bailey will be the their next subservient “leader” north of the border. Burnham no different to Starmer in the pro democracy stakes.
Sham and disgrace.
As a silver spooned nepo-baby he only gets what comes easy to him. His daddy’s seat was gifted to him in 2010, since then he’s never won a straight election battle, a perpetual list MSP. Now he can get neck deep in the family firm dividends again and who knows what opportunities may come the firm’s way in his Ministerial role. Ironic of course that his dad was recommended by Brown for a peerage in 2010 but HMRC put the brakes on it. Sarwar senior will be proud of his mini-me tonight. [ Taxman halts peerage for Muslim MP
Mohammad Sarwar, a millionaire Labour donor, has had his peerage blocked because of concerns raised by the tax authorities – https://archive.is/TGUJ9 ]
Burnham must need a teaboy !
The middle class champagne solicialists of the Labour Party in Scotland strikes again ! That clunking noise is Keir Hardie spinning in his grave !
We saw the same play with Davidson, Offord and now Sarwar. Retiral home for failed ‘Saviour of the Union’. I’m not sure which one is the most unprincipled.
Interesting how principles go out the window when personal advancement beckons. In any case, the House of Lords has become a bloated den of failure, the ultimate dodgy deal for failed politicians and party donors.
My first thought when I read about this appointment was that Sarwar has been toe-curlingly subservient to the Labour Party at Westminster – a career thing for him. But he also knows he’s toast in Scotland. So this will definitely please Daddy.
About 10 of the 37 elected Scottish Labour MP’s have some kind of govt role (whip, junior minister etc). The other 27 are zombie lobby fodder and were instantly overlooked by Burnham to bring in the unelected Baron Kashkari over their empty heids.