Sarwar: 'I genuinely fear about what the future of Scotland is'
Anas Sarwar has accused Nigel Farage of spreading 'poisonous' and 'divisive' rhetoric as he spoke of the guilt he feels about his children growing up in an environment where they witness racist attacks against their father.
His comments came as the Reform UK leader doubled down in support of a controversial advert.
The video, posted on Facebook and Instagram earlier this month, used edited clips from a 2022 speech in which Mr Sarwar called for greater South Asian representation in politics.
Reform added captions suggesting Mr Sarwar had pledged to 'prioritise' the Pakistani community — a phrase he did not use.
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Speaking to journalists in Aberdeen, Mr Farage claimed the speech was 'sectarian in nature' and that Mr Sarwar has a 'record of obsession' on the issue of race — citing a 2020 Holyrood speech in which the MSP noted that key public sector figures across Scotland, from the judiciary to council chief executives and head teachers, were all white.
Mr Farage insisted Reform UK 'do not talk about race at all'.
He said his party's chairman, Zia Yusuf, 'is Scottish-born, but comes from parents who come from the Indian subcontinent'.
He continued: 'We think everybody should be treated equally. We object, very strongly, to the segmentation of people into different types.
'I think that speech he gave was sectarian in its very nature — 'we are the South Asian community, we are going to take over the country and take over the world'.
'We believe what he said was a form of sectarian politics and we do not like it one little bit.'
When asked how his family deals with the racist abuse he has faced throughout his political career, Mr Sarwar told journalists in Hamilton: 'To be honest, it only motivates me and drives me, and makes me want to work even harder.'
Mr Sarwar, born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, said his experiences mirror some of what his father, Mohammad Sarwar — the UK's first Muslim MP — faced during his political career.
'I think what gives me a bit more perspective is there were similar kinds of attacks, not identical, but similar, when I was growing up and my father was trying to be a politician — when he was trying to get elected as the country's first Muslim MP — and there were threats, there was abuse, there was violence at that time.
'I think that probably has added resilience for me, and therefore it is water off a duck's back.
'I think the challenge is, where I feel a wee bit of guilt and where I feel a wee bit of trepidation, is the impact it has on my kids.'
He said that during his father's time as an MP, between 1997 and 2010, 'there were things that I accepted as normal that were not normal' — and that his children will now have to do the same.
He added: 'I am doing it for them, in the sense that I genuinely fear about what the future of Scotland is unless we get some fundamental change.'
Mr Sarwar also hit back at Mr Farage, saying: 'Today, the chief clown Nigel Farage finally found his way to Scotland and showed just how totally out of touch with our country he is.
'Nigel Farage turned up, admitted he cannot win the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, and pledged to cut funding for Scotland's NHS and public services.
'Nigel Farage is a dangerous clown and the people of Scotland see right through him.'
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice (Image:) According to Meta's advert library, the video has been viewed between 600,000 and 700,000 times — primarily by men aged 25–34 — at a cost of up to £15,000.
The by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse — triggered by the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie — takes place on 5 June.
Mr Farage insisted Reform was on course to place at least third in the by-election — and that if the party won, it would be 'the biggest earthquake Scottish politics has ever seen'.
However, he admitted the likelihood of victory was 'improbable'.
During his campaign stop in Scotland, Mr Farage announced two new defections to Reform: Duncan Massey, formerly a Conservative councillor, and Jamie McGuire, a former Labour councillor.
The Reform leader also used his visit to attack net zero policies pursued by both the UK and Scottish governments, claiming they were destroying jobs in the oil and gas sector.
'Parts of Scotland, England and Wales are literally deindustrialising before our very eyes,' he said. 'The madness of this is almost completely and utterly beyond belief.'
Mr Farage further claimed First Minister John Swinney's criticisms of his party were evidence of 'anti-Englishness'.
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He also suggested he would scrap the Barnett formula, calling the funding mechanism 'out of date'.
He added: 'What I would like to see is a Scottish Government that is able to raise a bit more of its own revenue and a Scottish economy that has actually got genuine growth — and I do not believe that can happen without this sector [oil and gas] booming.
'I think, you know, the Barnett formula goes back to the 1970s. Is there an argument it should be looked at again? Of course there is.
'But I mean, frankly, if you look at welfare dependency, if you look at educational standards… the £50 billion this year — roughly what the figure is going to be — going to Scotland, it is not going to reduce in the short term until Scotland actually starts to have an economy that is thriving, and right now it is going in completely the wrong direction.'
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