Anas Sarwar: "I will stand up to Jeremy Corbyn"

The Scottish Labour leadership contender was taking your calls on Scotland's Talk In

Anas Sarwar and Political Correspondent Alan Smith on Scotland's Talk In
Published 30th Oct 2017
Last updated 30th Oct 2017

Anas Sarwar says he's prepared to stand up to Jeremy Corbyn if it's in the best interests of Scotland.

The Scottish Labour leadership hopeful was taking your calls on Scotland's Talk In on MFR 2 on Sunday along with our Political Correspondent Alan Smith.

Caller, John Carr, challenged Mr Sarwar about his relationship with the UK party leader:

During the show he also admitted that the party was "thrashed" in June's general election - despite winning 7 seats in Scotland.

You can listen back to the whole programme here.

Over the weekend the leader of the UK's largest unions said only Mr Sarwar's rival, left-wing MSP Richard Leonard, could help Labour back to power across the UK.

Len McCluskey, the general secretary of the Unite trade union, said if Mr Leonard was voted in to succeed Kezia Dugdale, Labour north of the border would `"build on the foundation laid by Jeremy Corbyn''.

Speaking as he addressed the Unite Scottish policy conference in Aviemore, Mr McCluksey said: "Scottish Labour needs a leader who speaks for workers. We have one in Richard Leonard.''

He said that this time last year "Labour in Scotland had fallen off the electoral perch'' but said the party's success in the June general election, winning seats back from the SNP to return seven MPs to Westminster, had helped turn things round

Mr McCluskey stressed there was still "a lot to do to rebuild from the 2015 wipeout'' when Scottish Labour lost 40 MPs to Nicola Sturgeon's party.

Mr McCluskey claimed that while voters were fed up with the "weary same old politics'', politicians such as Mr Corbyn and Mr Leonard had "something genuinely new on offer''