By Anonymous
Sarwar’s (negligible amount of) credibility is left in tatters as a former Labour First Minister, Henry McLeish, says they, Labour at Holyrood, have no control over anything they do in Holyrood.
As a former Labour First Minister he, McLeish, said that if Labour win power again at Holyrood, they will have no say over what the (Scottish) government does, and that what laws it passed would be decided by the UK Labour Prime Minister.
Henry McLeish, who was First Minister for just over a year , said this in an exclusive interview on BBC Radio 4.
“When I was First Minister, as was Donald Dewar and Jack McConnell, we all had weekly phone calls with the Prime Minister who would then tell us what we were to bring to Parliament and what the government was going to be doing over the year, then in the programme for government only 20% of the program was decided by the (then) Labour-Lib Dem Executive, the rest was all decided by Westminster. The SNP is the only party in Holyrood other than the Greens who are not accountable to WM which means whenever they make a decision or want to bring a bill to parliament, they don’t need to constantly look over their shoulder and ask permission from the Prime Minister before doing so.”
Asked on his thoughts on Anas Sarwar standing up to Keir Starmer, McLeish said:
“The reality is you can’t do this, if you’re a Labour First Minister and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland, you are 100% accountable to the Prime Minister or Leader of the Labour Party and they essentially dictate what you say at First Minister Questions in opposition too. I tried to change the Executive’s name as it was back then to the Scottish Government but the opposition I got from my party was very strong and it was vetoed by Tony Blair. Anas, if he does become First Minister, will be like what the Mayors are in England and the Labour Government in Wales, you’re accountable and what you do is dictated to you which isn’t a progressive form of politics”
So really McLeish has only confirmed that which we already knew in respect to the Labour party.
As this clearly exposes Anas Sarwar’s assertion that any supposed (pretend) intervention or opposition by him, Sarwar , against his UK party leader Keir Starmer , who is now also the UK Labour PM , would be as an act, totally futile.
One example (of many) as evidence of this as a fact is upon Sarwar’s supposed opposition to the two child cap. Which, as a Tory policy, has now been retained , as voted for , by a majority via UK Labour as the UK Labour government (including Keir Starmer).
Also not one of the Labour MP’s recently elected in Scotland (and too Ian Murray) voted against their UK party on abolishing this two child cap but instead they all voted with the party to retain it.
So proving that Sarwar has absolutely no influence upon either his UK leader Keir Starmer, or UK Labour as a party or the recent influx of Labour MP’s elected in Scotland in the recent UK GE.
This then lends credibility to what Henry McLeish has stated , as to who within the Labour party it is that holds all powers , makes all decisions as in it is Labour HQ via their PM or as the Labour party leader.
It also exposes who it is in Labour that does what he or she is telt . However purely for the optics they as FM’s may , like Anas Sarwar, pretend that the opposite is the case.
Unfortunately the BBC here in Scotland play along with Sarwar in them also promoting the lie that he, Sarwar has ,within the UK Labour party, a lot of power and influence.
So the BBC here , as a media, are knowingly putting themselves in a situation of self imposed denial of the political fact that it is UK Labour and their UK PM (and also the UK Tory & Lib Dems parties too) who call the shots and not their leaders in devolved governments playing at being FM’s.
Meanwhile some of those voters within Scotland will, it appears, always be oblivious to truth as far as the Labour party are concerned. Some of them through choice and some through their reliance on believing everything they read in the papers or hear on the news on TV. (Also in part by believing Labour and their crude slogans and (now broken ) pledges and promises pre and post 2014 to also include their 2024 GE campaign).
Which then totally suits the Labour party and the media here , especially the BBC , both in and outwith Scotland.
So when these same voters cast their votes many of them do so while knowing only a fraction of information relating to Labour , such as the above information from Henry McLeish, who was a former Labour FM.
While also as voters in Scotland they hold, it seems, an abundance of misinformation on both Labour as a party where they wrongly assume that a Labour FM is his own man (and also they make the same wrong assumption when electing a Labour MP in Scotland|) .
However that is also thanks to the BBC here (and other media here also) whose main role as a media seems to see them trying to obscure any negativity connected to the Labour party while simultaneously recklessly smearing and promoting any and most of the political negativity towards the SNP , both as a party and as the Scottish government.
Hence why Labour got more MP’s in Scotland in the recent GE and Sarwar , and UK Labour, hopes this will be repeated in 2026 in the Scottish parliament election. If the BBC here keep doing that which they are renowned for. Which is promoting propaganda.
Those of us on here (and elsewhere too) wonder when the truth will finally hit home for all voters in Scotland because only then will we see more of those voters break the (bad) habit of casting a vote for parties like Labour (and also other parties who have a UK party connection) who, as UK political parties, all work AGAINST Scotland and it’s interests.
That is because their main and only focus is directed at working FOR the UK and it’s interests. (same goes for the media who often , as a UK media, confuse the UK as being synonymous with England as do some UK politicians too)
The above statement by me is not a claim by me but , it is based on recent and past evidence so it, like Henry MacLeish’s statement, is also a fact.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Independence supporters need to get out and vote Holyrood election and not vote unionist. A higher turnout. Not vote for any Unionist party. They do not support Independence. The power is in the people’s hands if they use it. Use it or lose it. Get out and vote at every opportunity for Independence. Independence supporting parties.
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So , a future where Anas Sarwar is Scotland’s FM ( pauses to suppress involuntary laugh ) would , according to Henry McLeish , mean that No. 10 would have their hand up his arse ( like Sooty ) and be working him – just as happens today ! So , no Labour CHANGE there – Sarwar is remains a sock puppet !
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None of this , showing Sarwar as a “puppet” of UK Labour, will be promoted by the BBC here as they have adopted a ‘Hands off’ approach when it comes to the Labour party.
Go onto the BBC website Scotland and Scottish Politics pages and try and find a story on the Labour party . There are currently none.
Then look for stories about the Scottish government/SNP.
You will find plenty and all are either negative or are presenting them, the Scottish government/SNP, as somehow struggling to cope with a situation.
The top story on both their BBC Scotland page and their Scottish politics page is:
“Scottish Horizon victims still waiting for exoneration letters”
The UK Horizon post office scandal that has nowt to do with the SNP/Scottish government but it does have UK Labour, the UK Tory party & the UK Lid Dems complicity/Involvement in it as a scandal.
In that none of them , as UK politicians, acted compassionately and promptly on behalf of all of those postmasters & postmistresses who were impacted by this UK scandal.
Firstly the incompetent and unsympathetic UK politicians did not believe the Postmasters/mistresses and instead they chose to believe the management of the PO
Then when the truth came out they failed, as UK politicians, to act quickly to resolve the situations for those Postmasters/Mistresses who were involved.
Had the Postmasters/Mistresses been believed at first by UK politicians then they all, as PO employees, would not have needed to have gone through so much suffering , hardship and also personal financial and reputational damage.
That is the real truth of this particular scandal and not this supposed top story the BBC have chosen to put on their Scotland pages sourced by them , as once again, they , the BBC here, look for dirt that they can throw upon the Scottish government/SNP ( as yet another FOI request has been sought by them).
So the BBC being the BBC has to drag in the SNP as the Scottish government to also somehow be culpable and negligent for that which they had no involvement in initially creating as per yet another UK generated scandal.
As this top story on their Scottish pages of their website was prompted by a “Freedom of Information request” by the BBC (another one by them) where they state in this article that:
“People caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal are still waiting for letters from the Scottish government about whether their convictions have been quashed”
“When legislation automatically exonerating victims came into force in June the justice secretary said they had “waited too long for justice” and she would write to those affected”
So once more the SNP gets dragged into another UK mess that has been generated by a UK government/politicians .
Then they, the SNP as Scottish government, are expected to clean up yet another UK generated mess promptly .
If they do not do so then the BBC here, via information sourced from their FOI request, will lay blame at their , SNP/Scottish government’s door, where in this instance, Scots who have been affected by this UK scandal have not , as yet, received their letter from our government exonerating them from their wrongful convictions.
For the BBC Scotland this is then yet another job done in their ongoing campaign to oust the SNP as Scottish government and replace them, in this instance, with the Labour party (UK one as Sarwar is but a “puppet” controlled by the UK Labour party via the UK Labour PM).
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Brilliant article exposing the downright lies, and hypocrisy, of not only the Labour Party, but their media allies. And their in lies our problem. The M.S.M. While all credit is due to Professor Robertson, and the many contributors on this site, its reach is, unfortunately, small, compared to the vast unionist propaganda machine, led by its cheerleader, the B.B.C. I’m afraid that isn’t going to change, because their sole function is to keep Westminster in charge so they can continue the wholesale robbery of our resources which has taken place for centuries, and will continue unabated unless enough of the Scottish electorate waken up and realise what is happening under their very noses. Frankly I don’t hold out too much hope for that to happen anytime soon. One example. I was talking to a Labour voter just this morning, and she was complaining about the Scottish Government, “taking away her Winter Fuel Allowance”. And that is the power of an almost completely corrupt media.
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A poor choice of wording from Henry, ” The SNP is the only party in Holyrood other than the Greens who are not accountable to WM… “, rather they are NOT under the direct control of political party heads based in WM.
The intention of devolution for Scotland was to give the illusion of democracy whilst Labour ruled the roost whatever befell the party in WM. Sarwar is no different to any of his predecessors in playing his part in the illusion, just as DRoss and all before him, and BBC Scotland does it’s best to restore the hegemony of the England’s democratic ‘arrangement’ to Scotland.
There is a small problem with ‘the arrangement – England has become increasingly agitated over it’s historic hegemonic politics, and being told ” I hear you ” by politicians who clearly don’t listen – Were it not for desperation to be rid of Tories, I doubt Labour would have been elected at the last GE, such is the anger in England over democracy having been stolen, obscured by the highly lucrative media facade furnished by the BBC etc…
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