ANAS Sarwar has “completely blown apart” Scottish Labour’s claim of wanting to get rid of the Tories after giving Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross his "implicit support", the SNP have said.
Stephen Flynn accused the Scottish Labour boss of undermining his own messaging after he refused to back the SNP against Ross in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East – where Labour are not standing a candidate.
Andy Brown was suspended as Labour’s pick for the seat after historic social media activity in which he appeared to downplay suggestions that Russia was behind the Salisbury poisonings.
But rather than back another candidate to defeat Ross, Sarwar has said he will “let [the SNP] play the protest here”.
It came after Flynn had written to Sarwar to explicitly ask him to support the SNP’s Seamus Logan in an effort to defeat the Scottish Tory outgoing leader and candidate.
It comes after video footage emerged of Labour’s Aberdeen South candidate, Tauqeer Malik, telling a voter that his party "didn't bother at all" in 2019 in an attempt to let the Tories win against the SNP.
Sarwar claimed Malik had been lying, but also declined to suspend him.
First Minister John Swinney said the incidents had “betrayed what [Sarwar’s] all about – he’d rather have a Tory than the SNP”.
And Flynn said: “With less than 48 hours to go, Anas Sarwar has completely blown apart his own campaign message.
“For weeks he has been telling Scottish voters with a straight face that he wants to get rid of the Tories – but given a golden opportunity to actually get rid of the Scottish Tory leader – the mask slips and he won’t lift a finger to help.
“It’s clear that the old ‘Better Together’ Unionist alliance is still holding strong, and that Labour in Scotland are more interested in attacking the SNP than getting rid of Tory MPs.
“If Anas Sarwar won’t help the SNP get rid of the Scottish Tory Leader in a two-horse race, he is in effect giving Douglas Ross his implicit support.
“His failure to act against the Scottish Tory leader exposes that the whole Labour party campaign in Scotland is deeply dishonest and that only the SNP are serious about getting rid of every Tory MP here.”
The SNP are in electoral contests with the Conservatives in the seats Ross’s party notionally holds going into the July 4 election, while Labour are focusing their resources and efforts on fighting the SNP in the central belt.
Labour have denied reports that they have all but given up on certain seats, such as in Clacton where Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is standing.
