ANAS Sarwar is on a collision course with his UK boss after saying Labour must make reforming the House of Lords one of its top priorities if it forms the next government.
The Scottish Labour leader said making the House of Lords a “democratic” institution should be high on Keir Starmer’s list of priorities if he is handed the keys to No. 10 after the next national poll.
Starmer appears lukewarm on the issue and his shadow Commons leader Thangam Debbonaire (below) told the i newspaper earlier this year it would take a backseat to other issues, saying: “Constitutional legislation takes time and it drains energy.”
Sarwar argued the opposite case during a question and answer session at the Institute for Government in London on Tuesday.
'Lords reform must be priority'
He said: “We have to accept that every layer of our government and every layer of our democracy is broken.
"That’s why we need fundamental reform of the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the Scottish Parliament, and local authorities and local government across the country. So we’ve got to have fundamental reform of all of them.”
Asked whether that would be a priority in the “first term” of a Labour government, Sarwar said: “For me, absolutely.
“I think that you have your greatest political capital and your greatest ability to do big, bold, radical reform in your first term than you do in your second term and I think that the last Labour government is a good example of that.
“I think if we’re going to do big, brave reform we should be doing that in the first parliament rather than waiting for a second parliament.”
In the first term of Tony Blair’s government work began on paving the way for the devolved parliaments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all of which opened before Labour were returned to power at the in the 2001 election.
Sarwar also appeared to put himself on course for conflict with shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray (below), who has ruled out further devolution, when he proposed giving the Scottish Parliament a greater say in international affairs and called for a “reset” of the devolution settlement.
He also argued Labour had to show Scots there was a “wider purpose” in backing his party and that Scottish Labour MPs must be in the Commons “leveraging and delivering for Scotland”.
Sarwar said: “How we can have greater international co-operation? Why can’t we see a Scottish Government and a Scottish Parliament looking to sign international agreements where it’s in our interests around trade, around co-operation, I think there’s a real, powerful part to play there.
“Why can’t there be greater Scottish representation around our trade infrastructure, our Foreign Office infrastructure, our international development infrastructure, as well as wider afield, around immigration? Why not have greater Scottish voice and representation around that [immigration]?”
He added: “We would fundamentally reset what devolution is, take it back to its founding principles and values and make sure, through co-operation not conflict, we are maximising the delivery for Scotland as we lead towards that next Scottish Parliament election.”
Starmer victory is 'stepping stone'
Keeping an eye on the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, Sarwar said a Starmer premiership was a “stepping stone” to Labour regaining power in Holyrood.
He said: “I see the UK General Election and the election of Keir Starmer as prime minister as a stepping stone to the election in 2026, rather than the endgame.
“And I’m just upfront about it, I’m upfront about it with Keir, I don’t believe there’s a route to a Scottish Labour government that doesn’t involve Keir Starmer being prime minister and Labour winning the next General Election. For me it is a stepping stone.
“Secondly, of course, I think it’s enough for us to say to a lot of people in Scotland, ‘Vote Labour so we can get rid of this Tory government.’
“And that will take us some part of the journey but I don’t think it gets us to the place that I think we need to get to, if we are going to make some really, really super significant gains in Scotland.”
He added: “And the message that I want to deliver to people and I’m saying really, really hard to Keir and his team – and to be fair to them, they get – is we have demonstrate that voting for Scottish Labour is for a wider purpose and that wider purpose is, first of all, how do you have MPs here that are there to stand up for their community and are therefore leveraging and delivering for Scotland.”
Sarwar also claimed he would argue for reform of the Scotland Office, which he said he wanted to see “draped in the Saltire” and working as Scotland’s “voice across the UK”.
He said: “Secondly, how do you turn the Scotland Office in on itself? So right now it feels like the Scotland Office is draped in a Union Jack and is there to be the eyes and ears of the UK Government in Scotland, rather than fighting Scotland’s corner across the UK.
“We would fundamentally change the Scotland Office, where it would be draped in the Saltire and made as Scotland’s voice across the UK and there to be the delivery unit for Scotland to make sure every single department is delivering for Scotland.”
