Anas Sarwar says Starmer can campaign in Scotland after call for him to quit

"Sarwar caused uproar two days ago by calling on Starmer to quit. He also said in early January that he wanted the prime minister and his colleagues to stay behind their doors in London during the campaign because of the UK government's deep unpopularity with voters. He said they had been left angry, frustrated and impatient by its repeated policy failures and missteps."

"Pressed by reporters at Holyrood on Wednesday on whether he would welcome Starmer to Scotland after demanding he stand down, Sarwar said he would. If the prime minister, and other ministers of course, if they want to come to Scotland and demonstrate that they're delivering for Scotland by being a UK Labour government, that's welcome, he said. But I am leading this campaign, I'm the candidate for first minister. Keir Starmer's name is not on the ballot paper. My name is on the ballot paper."

Anas Sarwar agreed that Keir Starmer and other cabinet ministers may campaign for Scottish Labour in the Holyrood elections after previously calling for the prime minister to resign. Sarwar said ministers are welcome only if they can demonstrate how a UK Labour government is delivering for Scotland. Sarwar emphasized he is the candidate for first minister and that voters must choose between him and John Swinney. The reversal came after Sarwar failed to secure public backing from most Labour MPs and none from UK ministers. Most of Labour's 20 MSPs endorsed his stance, but several Scottish MPs and ministers criticized the intervention as high risk that could worsen Labour's electoral prospects.

Read at www.theguardian.com