I am more Scottish than British, declares Labour leader Anas Sarwar

Anas Sarwar has insisted that he is more Scottish than British, despite opposing independence, as Labour attempted to reclaim the saltire from the SNP.

In an attempt to reposition the Labour Party as a patriotic choice for Scots, Mr Sarwar said he was “more proud” of his Scottish identity, while also describing himself as a “Glasgow nationalist”.

Mr Sarwar pledged that under Labour, the Scotland Office would be “draped in the saltire” and would unashamedly promote Scottish interests across the UK Government.

The pitch, made at an Institute for Government event on Tuesday, is part of efforts to win back pro-independence voters from the SNP and help Sir Keir Starmer into Downing Street.

“There’s been this battle in Scotland between those that wave a Union Jack, and those that wave a saltire,” Mr Sarwar said.

“You’ve got to pick a side and if you pick the Union Jack, it means you support the UK and if you pick the saltire, it means you support independence.

‘We’re all team Scotland’

“Actually, I don’t view it that way. We’re all team Scotland. And I would always be cognisant of and more proud of my Scottish identity, even more than my British identity.

“I would probably say I’m a Glasgow nationalist in terms of my local identity, as well.”

The SNP has repeatedly attempted to present Scottish Labour as a “branch office” that takes its orders from London.

However, the attacks failed to resonate with voters in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election, which the party won with a remarkable 20-point swing from the SNP.

Some opinion polls have suggested that Labour has caught up with the SNP ahead of the general election.

Surveys have suggested the party is making major inroads in its central belt former heartlands, which were Labour strongholds until the party was almost wiped out by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP in 2015.

Mr Sarwar claimed there had been a shift within the last year, in which a view among voters that the SNP was a positive party and Labour negative had “flipped totally on its head”.

He accused Humza Yousaf of abandoning his “driving mission”, of using tax powers to tackle poverty, within a few months of taking office.

The First Minister last week announced a council tax freeze, having previously planned to raise bills by up to 22.5 per cent.
Mr Sarwar said Mr Yousaf’s plans for council tax rises had been “ludicrous” but the SNP is yet to set out how to pay for its new plans.

‘We’re the party of change’

“We’re now the party of change, they’re the party of the status quo,” Mr Sarwar said. “We’re the party of pulling our country together. They’re the party of division.

“And we’re now the party that believes Scotland’s best days lie ahead of it. And they’re the ones that talk down Scotland. That is a massive contrast in the last year. And I relish fighting the elections on that pitch.”

Tommy Sheppard, the SNP MP, accused Mr Sarwar of spending his time “talking about flags rather than real policy”.

He added: “It’s telling that in the middle of a Westminster-made cost of living crisis, where households are struggling to simply get by, soundbites and rhetoric are all the Labour Party and their Scottish branch office have to offer.”