Whip Scottish MPs to vote down Starmer, SNP urges Anas Sarwar

The SNP has challenged Anas Sarwar to whip Scottish Labour MPs into backing a vote of no confidence in Keir Starmer.

The embattled prime minister has insisted he will not step down despite recent election losses and a raft of government resignations.

Junior health minister Zubir Ahmed – a Glasgow MP – is amongst them but the Scottish Labour group is split on the PM’s future.

Eleven trade unions which help fund Labour have said the party needs a new leader before the next general election.

Last night Ipsos published polling that revealed a public split on whether Starmer should resign immediately or sometime before that contest – but two in three voters said the PM should not lead Labour into the general election.

The SNP has said it will bring forward a vote of no confidence in Starmer.

Its new Westminster leader Dave Doogan said it would use an amendment to the King’s Speech to do so.

Now the party has called on Scottish Labour leader Sarwar – who urged Starmer to step down weeks ago – to whip his MPs into backing it.

Kirsty Blackman MP, the SNP’s chief whip at Westminster, said: “Despite his bravado, Anas Sarwar has repeatedly failed to act on his opportunistic election stunt call for Keir Starmer to resign in February.

“Back then he claimed ‘the distraction has to end and the leadership in Downing Street has to change’, but since then he has sat on his hands and his silence has been deafening.

“At every opportunity Sarwar has had to put his call into action, and actually remove the prime minister, he has chickened out. Just last month, he refused to back the vote on an inquiry into Keir Starmer over his role in the Peter Mandelson scandal, which would have forced the prime minister from office. Now, he has one more opportunity to act the question is, will he back the vote of no confidence or will he keep Starmer in post and allow this Westminster circus to go on and on?

“After taking the Scottish Labour Party to their worst ever result, this could be one of Anas Sarwar's final acts as leader. He must do the right thing.”

Richard Baker, chair of the Scottish Parliamentary Labour Party at Westminster, has called for Starmer to resign, as have colleagues Maureen Burke, Irene Campbell, Graeme Downie, Alan Gemmell, Brian Leishman, Gordon McKee, Euan Stainbank and Melanie Ward.

However, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander – who helped mastermind the party’s Holyrood election campaign – and culture minister Ian Murray have stated their support for the prime minister.

Sarwar has said he will “absolutely” stay on as Scottish Labour leader, telling reporters his party is “hurting” and it is his job to “hold it together”.