A LABOUR peer has revealed Anas Sarwar has no say over how Scottish Labour MPs vote in "another confirmation that Scottish Labour remain just a branch office".
George Foulkes said that the Scottish Labour leader was powerless to dictate how Labour MPs from Scotland voted in Westminster.
In a tweet, the former minister said: “[Anas] Sarwar does neither decide nor instruct Scottish Labour MPs how to vote.”
Sarwar is frequently called upon by the SNP to whip Scottish Labour MPs for votes in the Commons.
READ MORE: Malcolm Offord left red-faced as anti-Green attack hilariously backfires
However, in the UK Parliament, Labour MPs from Scotland are subject to the UK party whip, over which Sarwar has no control.
Patrick Harvie, Scottish Greens candidate in Glasgow, told The National: "Many thanks to the entitled, unelected Lord Foulkes for this timely reminder that Anas Sarwar isn’t even the leader of Labour in Scotland. It’s another confirmation that Scottish Labour remain just a branch office of Keir Starmer’s UK Labour Party.
“Anas Sarwar doesn’t support Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, but was still happy to see him protected over the scandal of Peter Mandleson’s appointment. Despite this act of fealty a week before an election, UK Labour is showing that they don’t support Anas’s leadership either.
“UK Labour see Scotland as a department to be managed, not a country with a voice and a choice. By whipping their MPs to vote to avoid any further scrutiny, they are showing the arrogance in power that we’ve seen too many times before.
READ MORE: How every Scottish Labour MP voted on Keir Starmer's crunch sleaze probe motion
“And if the alleged leader of Scottish Labour has no control over how his MPs vote, it raises serious questions about what the point of Scottish Labour is and how they can ever be trusted with power.”
Lord Foulkes served as the MP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley from 1979 to 2005 and then was a Lothians list MSP between 2007 and 2011.
He briefly served as a minister in the Scotland Office during Tony Blair’s premiership and before that was parliamentary under-secretary of state for international development.
Share