Sarwar has shown his ruthless streak. But will his swipe at Starmer mean anything to voters?

"Once one of Keir Starmer's staunchest cheerleaders and allies, the Scottish Labour leader is now the most senior party figure to call for him to quit. Despite anger among his colleagues and criticism that his decision to demand Starmer stands down was idiotic, immature and self-defeating, Sarwar's political calculation is blunt and uncompromising. Sarwar and his advisers, having watched Scottish Labour's polling figures plummet as the disarray inside the UK government deepened into chaos and then crisis, believe the risk of calling on Starmer to quit is justified."

"Sarwar, by delivering Labour's best national-level result in the 2024 general election winning 35.3% of the vote, compared with Labour's 33.7% at the UK-wide level managed to double his party's support levels in a matter of months. That has now evaporated. Scottish Labour sits at 18% in the polls. Scottish Labour's leadership have been in crisis talks since the issue of Peter Mandelson's ties to Jeffrey Epstein grew into a fully fledged scandal last week."

"A successful outcome for Sarwar, such as it is, relies on Starmer quitting now. He needs Starmer to resign gracefully and with humility. And it would matter too who stands to replace him. Sarwar's allies may be gambling that a leadership contest will produce candidates that can rouse voters who have fled to Reform or the Greens to reconsider Labour, or at the very least, lance the boil they feel Starmer's premiership has become."

Anas Sarwar, once a staunch ally of Keir Starmer, has publicly called for Starmer to resign. Scottish Labour's polling surged to 35.3% in the 2024 general election under Sarwar's leadership but has since collapsed to around 18%. Sarwar and his advisers judge that forcing a UK leadership change is worth the risk amid government disarray and the Mandelson–Jeffrey Epstein scandal. The move risks internal division, a failed coup that would expose Sarwar as weak, or a damaging leadership contest. Success depends on Starmer resigning gracefully and on replacement candidates who can win back voters from Reform and the Greens.

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