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The National
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
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." — 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.
The National
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
John Swinney denies he was 'furious' at Nicola Sturgeon over interview
On Tuesday, the First Minister set out his Programme for Government in the Scottish Parliament, defining his policy agenda for the next 12 months ahead of the Holyrood 2026 election. Earlier that morning, his predecessor Sturgeon was stopped by journalists in the Garden Lobby for her response to the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman. The Glasgow MSP had been accosted by a Mail on Sunday journalist at a local event in the weeks following the ruling, but had refused to speak at length. READ MORE: How are Scottish parties set for Holyrood election? John Curtice's view She told reporters in Holyrood that she had 'concerns' about making the lives of trans people harder. Asked about the interview on the BBC Sunday Show, it was put to Swinney that he was 'furious' at Sturgeon taking attention away from his speech. 'Not in the slightest,' Swinney said. 'I was pleased to hear Nicola setting out her perspective, and I agree with her perspective that it's important the rights of everybody in Scotland, and that includes trans people, are properly and fully respected. 'And that's indeed what the Supreme Court judgment said.' Journalist Martin Geissler pressed Swinney on Sturgeon's comments, adding that she could have made them weeks earlier 'when trans people actually could have done with a powerful voice like hers in their corner, and she chose to do it just before you got to your feet'. (Image: Jane Barlow) 'Well, I'm completely at ease with that, perfectly happy with the timing, and perfectly happy with what Nicola said,' Swinney replied. 'And of course, it corresponds with what I said immediately after the supreme court judgment, which is that we've got to protect and defend the rights of everybody within Scotland. 'People are entitled, no matter who they are, to have their rights protected. 'And a government under my leadership, and indeed a government under Nicola Sturgeon's leadership, always operated on the on the on the approach that people's rights had to be protected. So I'm completely at ease with all of that.' Last week, the Scottish Parliament announced that transgender women are no longer able to use women's toilets on the parliamentary estate. Swinney was asked if that policy would be extended to all Scottish Government buildings and offices. READ MORE: Is time running out for Anas Sarwar to stand against Keir Starmer? Swinney said: 'We're obviously taking forward all of the steps that are necessary to review these issues and to make sure we've got the proper guidance in place. 'Some of this will have to wait until the Equalities and Human Rights Commission provide their final guidance on these issues, which won't be for some time to come. 'But we are engaging with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, and we are also undertaking the internal review work that is required to make sure that we always live within the law, which is an absolutely solemn commitment that my government makes to the people of Scotland.' We told how Sturgeon told reporters: "The Supreme Court judgment by definition is the law of the land. The question for me, and I think for a lot of people, is how that is now translated into practice. (Image: Jane Barlow) "Can that be done in a way that protect women and also allows trans people to live their lives with dignity and in a safe and accepted way? I think that remains to be seen. "I think some of the early indications would raise concerns in my mind that we are at risk of making the lives of trans people almost unliveable and I don't think the majority of people in the country would want to see that. "It certainly doesn't make a single woman any safer to do that because the threat to women comes from predatory and abusive men." Sturgeon was first minister when the Scottish Parliament passed its Gender Recognition Reform Act in 2022. READ MORE: Greens leadership hopeful says 'soundbitey' nature of FMQs must end The law would have allowed transgender people to self-identify and simplified the requirements to acquire a GRC, and was supported by the majority of cross-party MSPs, before it was blocked by Westminster from becoming law. Swinney served as her deputy first minister at the time. The Programme for Government included plans to scrap peak rail fares, extra NHS appointments and strategies to tackle child poverty.
