Sarwar says he will 'absolutely' stay on as Labour leader

"Anas Sarwar has insisted he will "absolutely" stay on as Scottish Labour leader, despite his party recording their worst ever result at a Scottish Parliament election. Labour lost four seats last week, returning just 17 of the 129 seats available. Sarwar refused to be drawn on how long he would continue as leader and did not commit to leading his party into the next election in five years' time."

"He told BBC Scotland's The Sunday Show his "responsibility now is to hold my party together," and pledged to hold "the newly elected SNP government to account on their record". He said he would he would "make sure we have a parliament and a democracy that functions in Scotland." Sarwar declined to say whether he saw himself leading his party into the next election, adding: "I've got a job to do and I intend to do it.""

"He described the Scottish election result as "disappointing and hurtful" and took full responsibility for the strategy of focussing the campaign on constituencies rather than the list vote. He also defended campaign co-chairs Jackie Baillie and Douglas Alexander, saying they "did a good job in this election campaign". Sarwar said his party had failed to cut through the national noise."

""This election didn't come down to big ideas. It came down to a big national wave and a general vibe that we couldn't change," he said. Former Scottish Labour leader Lord (Jack) McConnell, who was first minister from 2001 to 2007, blamed "public disappointment with the UK government" and a poor campaign strategy for the party's election performance."

Anas Sarwar said he would absolutely remain Scottish Labour leader after the party recorded its worst ever result in the Scottish Parliament election. Labour lost four seats and won 17 of 129 seats. Sarwar refused to specify how long he would continue and did not commit to leading the party into the next election. He said his responsibility was to hold his party together and pledged to hold the newly elected SNP government to account. He said he would ensure Scotland has a parliament and democracy that functions. He described the result as disappointing and hurtful, took responsibility for the strategy, and said the campaign could not overcome a national wave. He defended campaign co-chairs Jackie Baillie and Douglas Alexander.

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