Anas Sarwar stays silent as UK Labour undermine him on immigration
The SNP have written to group leader Anas Sarwar urging him to speak out after Prime Minister Keir Starmer said it was 'common sense' that people living in the UK should speak English and claimed the country risked 'becoming an island of strangers'.
The Labour Government further laid out plans to end visas for care workers, make migrants wait 10 years rather than five to apply for settlement or citizenship, and close the legal route for asylum used by a Palestinian family in the UK earlier in 2025.
Labour MP Nadia Whittome was among the voices to criticise Starmer's rhetoric and policies, calling them 'shameful and dangerous'.
READ MORE: 'Little Englander': Keir Starmer provokes fury over 'speak English' post
She went on: 'Blaming migrants for a housing crisis and failing public services lets the real culprits off the hook: landlordism, chronic underinvestment, and deepening inequality.
'Labour was elected to tackle those, not parrot Reform's scapegoating, which will never improve people's lives.'
Her fellow Labour MP Sarah Owen issued a similar warning, saying: 'The best way to avoid becoming an 'island of strangers' is investing in communities to thrive – not pitting people against each other.
'I've said it before and will say it again: Chasing the tail of the right risks taking our country down a very dark path.'
Prime Minister Keir StarmerFurther condemnation of the Labour Government was widespread, with trade union GMB calling the plans 'deeply damaging – potentially catastrophic', and Scottish Care chief executive Donald Macaskill telling The National that Starmer had been echoing the racist 20th-century politician Enoch Powell 'at his worst'.
However, Scottish Labour have remained silent, failing to respond to multiple requests for comment from The National.
Scottish Labour leader Sarwar had previously spoken in support of immigration, especially into the social care sector.
In a clip on the BBC Sunday Show which was widely shared online after news broke of Labour's plans to end visas for the sector, Sarwar said: "We need migration around the health and social care system, of course we do.'
Anas Sarwar, June 2024 "We need migration around the health and social care system, of course we do." pic.twitter.com/Ihy39LzW9J — MSM Monitor (@msm_monitor) May 11, 2025
In a separate interview with the BBC Sunday Show the following month, July 2024, Sarwar said Scotland could have a 'bespoke' visa arrangement within the UK to help ease pressures in key sectors.
SNP MP Seamus Logan, his party's health and social care spokesperson at Westminster, has written to Sarwar urging him to 'finally grow a backbone' and stick to his word.
Logan highlighted a now-infamous claim from the Labour MSP that he would 'stand up for Scotland' to Starmer, something which opponents say he has failed to do even as Welsh Labour's leader Eluned Morgan makes headlines with her criticism of the Prime Minister.
The SNP MP wrote: "The Labour Government's wider migration plans are a shameless attempt to mimic Nigel Farage, and they will damage key industries, public services and universities across Scotland – harming economic growth and leaving us all worse off as a result.
READ MORE: Ian Murray's 'Farage is smiling' claim back to haunt him over Labour visa plans
"During the UK General Election, you promised voters in Scotland that you would 'stand up to Keir Starmer' and press for a migration system that worked for Scotland. You said 'we need migration around our health and social care system' and claimed, if elected, the Labour Party would be open to introducing a Scottish visa, which you said was 'common sense'.
"However, since the election, you have failed to stand up to Keir Starmer once.
'Instead, you have rolled over and defended every damaging decision, including the Labour Government's winter fuel and disability cuts, the decision to block compensation for Waspi women and the political choice to keep punitive Tory welfare policies, including the bedroom tax and two-child benefit cap, which are pushing thousands of Scottish children into poverty.
"I urge you to finally grow a backbone and join the opposition to Keir Starmer's damaging migration plans, which are an attack on Scotland's NHS and our economy.
"You cannot credibly claim to be on the side of the NHS if you fail to stand up to Keir Starmer over his harmful plans to cut Scotland's NHS and social care workforce.
"Moreover, these plans are an attack on Scotland's values and our national interest. I urge you to put Scotland's interests first and speak out against Keir Starmer's plans, before it is too late.'
As reported above, Scottish Labour did not respond to a request for comment.
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