Anas Sarwar is stepping down as leader of the Scottish Labour party as he swaps Holyrood to become a UK government minister. The Glasgow MSP is expected to be confirmed for a role in Andy Burnham's government after taking a seat in the House of Lords.
It comes after Scottish Labour recorded their worst ever result at a Scottish Parliament election, returning just 17 of the 129 seats available. Sarwar's move marks a return to the UK political stage where his parliamentary career began.
Who is Anas Sarwar?
Sarwar is the son of millionaire businessman Mohammad Sarwar, who was the UK's first Muslim MP and went on to become governor of Punjab in Pakistan. He was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School - a private school on the south side of Glasgow - then attended Glasgow University, where he studied dentistry.
After five years working as a dentist in Paisley, Sarwar was elected to Westminster, aged 27, winning his father's former Glasgow Central seat in the 2010 election. The following year he was elected as Scottish Labour's deputy leader under party leader Johann Lamont.
How did he move through Scottish Labour?
Sarwar became Scottish Labour deputy leader in 2011 under Johann Lamont. He held his Westminster seat until the 2015, when the SNP won all but three seats in Scotland.
Sarwar then turned his attention to Holyrood and was elected as a list MSP for Glasgow in 2016. The following year, he stood to be promoted to Scottish Labour leader but was beaten by Richard Leonard.
The top job came up again in 2021, less than three months before the Holyrood election which he won. This made him the first non-white leader of a major political party in the UK.
What happened during his time as leader?
Things looked positive for Scottish Labour under Sarwar, with a 2023 by-election win the first sign of a UK wide Labour revival before 2024's historic general election win. This continued into 2025 when his party claimed a Holyrood by-election win.
In the months prior to the Holyrood election, Sarwar appeared to break rank- becoming one of the first major Labour figures to call on Sir Keir Starmer to resign as Prime minister.
It was seen by many as an attempt to distance the Scottish Labour party's campaign from falling popularity for the UK government. Sarwar's Holyrood campaign went big on disrupting the status quo of the SNP.
Sarwar was one of the first major Labour figures to call for Sir Keir Starmer to resign
Ultimately, Sarwar said his party was left "hurting" after losing four Holyrood seats in 2026, the party's worst result in Scottish Parliament history. The party became Holyrood's joint opposition party after returning the same number of MSP's as Reform UK.
Sarwar himself was only re-elected on the list after the SNP won the Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok seat. Despite this he maintained he would stay on a leader.
What did he do outside the party battles?
During his time in Holyrood, he has campaigned fiercely alongside families of patients who died after contracting infections at the Queen Elizabeth University, including 10-year-old Milly Main.
Now, after nearly a decade in Holyrood, he is set to return to UK politics with a government role and a fancy new Lord Sarwar title.
