Anas Sarwar elected new Scottish Labour leader

Anas Sarwar has been elected as the new leader of Scottish Labour with 57.6 per cent of the vote.

He defeated fellow MSP Monica Lennon to become the first ever ethnic minority leader of a party in the UK.

The election was triggered by the unexpected resignation of Richard Leonard just weeks out from the Scottish Parliament election in May.

Sarwar said the party “has a lot of work to do” to win back trust and he said he was “sorry” it had not been good enough in recent years.

He said: “I’m determined that the Labour Party I lead will always be on your side, because I will be a leader who focuses on what unites our country – not what divides it. And together we will build a better future for Scotland.”

And he said the key message going into the election would be for the next parliament to be focused on “COVID recovery", including an “NHS restart plan” and a “catch-up plan” for children.

Rival Lennon congratulated Sarwar on his victory, tweeting: “Proud to have been part of this positive leadership debate... Let’s get out there as a united team.”

UK leader Keir Starmer said: “Huge congratulations to Anas on his election as leader of the Scottish Labour Party. I look forward to working with him to secure our economy, protect our NHS and rebuild our country.”

And the Scottish Government’s justice secretary Humza Yousaf – with whom Sarwar has worked to tackle Islamophobia – tweeted: “Today can I congratulate Anas Sarwar on becoming Scottish Labour leader – think this makes him first Muslim & person of colour leading a political party in UK, an incredible & historic achievement of which I am proud of him for.”