Anas Sarwar Member of the Scottish Parliament has been named leader of the Scottish Labour Party, beating Monica Lennon by 57.6 per cent to 42.4 per cent. The first time a Muslim from an ethnic minority background has led a major political Party, in this context the devolved Scottish Parliament.
Mr. Sawar is the son of Mohammed Sawar, now Governor of the Punjab in Pakistan and in 1992 the first Muslim to be elected to the British Parliament from the Labour Party sitting opposite Mr. Nirj Deva the first Conservative post war ethnic minority MP, later MEP who went on to serve as the first ethnic minority PPS to the Scottish Office under Prime Minister John Major.
Mr. Anas Sarwar saying that his election was “the greatest honour of my life” went on to say that the campaign “has shown the best of our party, not the worst of our politics”. Speaking to the people of Scotland he committed his Party to a great deal of work to win the trust of the Scottish people.
Sir Keith Starmer the UK’s Labour Party Leader in the House of Commons stated that this says something great about Scotland and its people. But he said, the fight for equality is far from over.
Mr. Sarwa promised to be a leader who focuses on what unites the country of Scotland – not what divides it. He said that “Together we will build a better future for Scotland”. His election comes at a time of increasing political tension in Scotland about Scottish independence from the UK, led by the Scottish Nationalist Party post Brexit, currently beset by their own internecine war fare.
