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Anas Sarwar has been labeled a ‘coward’ by colleagues within his party for taking refuge afterLabour’s catastrophic election defeat.

Although he had aspirations to become First Minister just a week prior, the leader of Scottish Labour steered clear of the media yesterday following his disappointing outcome of securing only 17 seats, as other party leaders announced their future plans.

The party led by Mr. Sarwar will be the co-second largest in Holyrood, together with Reform UK, after losing four seats since the 2021 election.

However, he has not yet outlined whether he would collaborate with other parties, his key focuses for the upcoming term, or his evaluation of past mistakes.

Numerous members of his party have privately expressed doubts about whether he should now reassess his role.

Several Labour insiders who spoke with The Scottish Mail on Sunday indicated they held Sir responsibleKeir Starmerfor the unfavorable result, not only in Scotland but also in Wales, where Labour lost its grip on the Senedd for the first time.

Some claimed Mr Sarwar was a ‘disgrace’ for withdrawing when it became clear that Thursday’s vote would not secure him a place at Bute House.

A senior member of the Scottish Labour party stated: ‘Anas wasn’t present at the Glasgow count for a long time. He spent most of Friday at the party headquarters with his close associates.’

He arrived, spoke with a few individuals, and then departed without returning. Some MPs present criticized it as shameful that he wasn’t there to lead his troops in the attack, despite the unfavorable outcome. It simply gave the impression of being very timid.

It followed the Prime Minister encountering comparable backlash when he remained out of sight during a visit to Scotland last month, after it was disclosed that Peter Mandelson had been appointed as a UK ambassador despite not passing security checks.

The source also attributed the poor showing of Scottish Labour to its campaign, stating: ‘A Scottish Labour manifesto should contain policies that genuinely improve people’s lives.’

The one we proposed this time was different. It was simply filled with absurdities that seemed to have been created by think tanks and focus groups.

Grangemouth Labour MP Brian Leishman stated that his party must reconnect with its origins. ‘If we don’t rekindle our radicalism, the Scottish Labour Party will end up being politically insignificant,’ he cautioned.

A failed Labour candidate claimed the campaign approach, developed by deputy leader Jackie Baillie and Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander, posed a major issue.

‘Conducting a presidential-style campaign while Anas was almost as disliked as Keir Starmer made no sense at all. Spending £100,000 on online ads without sufficient attention to on-the-ground organization was a mistake,’ he stated.

We believed the election would resemble the 38 Hamilton by-elections, where we barely won and it was more of a coincidence than a calculated move.

The party didn’t regard Reform with enough seriousness until it was too late.

Furthermore, urging Starmer to step down, irrespective of his merits, caused Anas to appear hypocritical, unreliable, and disloyal.

A disappointed contender mentioned that there was excessive dependence on Mr. Sarwar’s “energy and character,” with insufficient “concrete plans for improving people’s lives.”

The candidate claimed that party leaders had overlooked official surveys indicating a weak performance for Labour, arguing that the results were unreliable.

Last night, a person connected to Mr. Sarwar mentioned that Scottish Labour’s shortcomings were primarily due to the unpopularity of Sir Keir.

Whether you are in a good mood, bad mood, on the left or the right, people showed a strong, negative reaction to Keir Starmer throughout all parts of our vote.

“Older people dislike him, middle-class individuals believe he has failed to keep his commitments to them, immigrants are against him, and liberal voters also despise him,” he added.

When asked if Mr. Sarwar was now thinking about stepping down, the source stated he would stay “for the foreseeable future” and mentioned: “A leadership election is not on the horizon.”

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