Anas Sarwar to Leave Scottish Labour Leadership for UK Business Minister Role and House of Lords Seat

Anas Sarwar will stand down as Scottish Labour leader and resign his seat in the Scottish Parliament to become a business minister in Andy Burnham's government and take a seat in the House of Lords. Burnham became prime minister on 20 July 2026 and appointed his cabinet that night.

Sarwar, who has led Scottish Labour since 2021, attended the London event last Friday when Burnham became the new Labour Party leader.

Scottish Labour won 17 of 129 seats in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. Sarwar publicly called for Sir Keir Starmer to resign in February 2026. In May he said he would not take a seat in the House of Lords and was focused on becoming first minister.

After Starmer's resignation in June he said he intended to serve the full five-year Holyrood term. New rules introduced last year prevent politicians from sitting at both Westminster and Holyrood simultaneously.

Sarwar was elected to Holyrood via the regional list, so no by-election will be held for his seat. Scottish Labour parliamentarians appeared to have been blindsided by the announcement. An MSP described the decision as bizarre. A senior Scottish Labour MP called it absolutely mad and said they could not fathom the logic.

SNP deputy leader Keith Brown said the appointment sent a terrible signal after Scottish Labour's worst-ever election result. Reform UK's Scotland deputy leader Thomas Kerr said voters in Glasgow would feel betrayed. Former Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy said the move was good news for Sarwar personally and would probably strengthen the government, though it would create a leadership vacancy in Scotland.