ANAS Sarwar is bidding to be a “pound-shop Elon Musk” with his plans to copy the far-right US official’s cost-cutting measures, the SNP have said.
Unleashing a fierce broadside on the Scottish Labour leader after his conference speech outlined plans for a Scottish version of Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), SNP MSP Kevin Stewart said the Labour MSP could “not be trusted to protect Scotland's interests”.
In his keynote conference address, Sarwar echoed the Scottish Tories in comparing the £1 billion cost to replace Barlinnie prison with a luxury hotel development.
Invoking the far-right Tesla chief executive Musk, Sarwar added: “As first minister I will respect every penny of your money. That’s why we will have our own Department of Government Efficiency to stop the waste and deliver value for money for you, the taxpayer.”
Responding, Stewart said: "Not content with cosying up to Nigel Farage, Anas Sarwar has gone one step further and is now trying to be a pound-shop Elon Musk – he cannot be trusted to protect Scotland's interests.
"So far Musk's department has cut funding to medical research projects, cancelled education contracts, and sacked thousands of public sector workers – which one of those cuts has impressed Sarwar the most?
"Anas Sarwar's leadership is in total disarray and the lower his party goes in the polls and more desperate he is becoming."
She called a Scottish version of Doge “a seriously dangerous suggestion”, going on: “Doge is a lawless organisation that operates with total disregard for the privacy and security of both the population and the country.
“It fires thousands on a whim, only to find that essential agencies – including those looking after nuclear weapons – can’t function without them. It threatens to destroy basic healthcare and education services relied on by millions. It lacks any kind of transparency or accountability, routinely lying about its actions.
“I don’t know why Scottish Labour think it’s a good idea to bring this anti-democratic carnival of incompetence and fraud to Scotland. It should deeply concern everyone who cares about democracy, public services and good governance, and anyone who is thinking of voting Labour next year.”
Brown said: “Anas Sarwar came into this Labour conference on shaky ground amidst mounting questions about his future as Labour in Scotland leader – and today's lacklustre speech has done nothing to strengthen his position.
"His speech would have benefitted from an apology for the litany of broken promises he and Keir Starmer used to get elected – to the workers at Grangemouth, to households struggling with energy bills, to the pensioners who have had their winter hearing support cut, and to the Waspi women that Labour betrayed.”
The opening of the Scottish Labour conference on Friday saw protests from both Waspi campaigners and trade unionists calling for action on Grangemouth.
Ahead of the General Election, Labour figures including the Prime Minister had pledged to work for compensation for Waspi women, but in power they have declined to pay out.
And in a debate ahead of the Westminster vote last July, Sarwar pledged that a Labour-run government would step in to save jobs at Scotland’s last oil refinery with “hundreds of millions” in backing. That has not materialised, and some 400 workers at the site are facing redundancy.
Brown went on: “Labour under Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer are in complete disarray – breaking promise after promise and seeing their support plummet as polls suggest they are locked in a battle for second place with Nigel Farage.
“It is no wonder the sharks are beginning to circle around the Labour leader.”
Elsewhere in his conference speech, Sarwar said Scottish Labour would bring in an “Amazon tax” on online giants to support Scottish high streets, would introduce a series of regional mayorships in Scotland, and that he would soon embark on a world tour to promote Scottish interests abroad.
