Anas Sarwar has dumped the “change” slogan, but he needs to rework another UK Labour zinger if he wants to turn around his party’s fortunes. Keir Starmer hammered home the message during the general election campaign that his Government would be “country first, party second”.
It cut through because it reminded voters that the Conservatives had put their own interests above those of ordinary folk. The line also played well with floating voters who worried Starmer would be held hostage to left wingers if he won power.
Sarwar, whose party is trailing the SNP as a result of Starmer’s poor start as PM, needs to put the needs of Scotland above Labour unity.
Some of his colleagues, particularly in the Scottish Labour group at Westminster, want him to toe the Westminster line. This would mean defending Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ cuts to Winter Fuel Payments and the decision to snub the WASPI women. Such an approach would be ruinous for Sarwar.
It would be ridiculous for the Glasgow MSP to needlessly pick fights with the Labour Government as a ruse to demonstrate his own independence. But it would be equally absurd for him to keep his mouth shut when he believes Government decisions are damaging.
Opting for loyalty at all costs would make him Starmer’s ambassador in Scotland, a disastrous look for a potential FM. Eighteen years of SNP rule have changed the character of the country and standing up for Scotland is essential for anyone who wants the keys to Bute House.
Sarwar needs to call out decisions that are bad for Scotland, regardless of whether they have been made by the governments in Edinburgh or London.
As opinion polls show his dream of becoming First Minister fading, his strategists will ponder how he should handle an unpopular Labour Government at Westminster.
The main plank should be using his influence, as well as the reach of Scottish Labour MPs and Ministers, to nip bad ideas in the bud. He should also champion Government successes when they arrive. But he must criticise Starmer when his administration gets things wrong, as the Government did with the disastrous handling of the WFP cuts.
Country over party should be the choice he makes every time.
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