Sarwar: Reform voters are not racist, they are ‘scunnered’ and ‘frustrated’

Reform UK voters are not racist, Anas Sarwar has said, as he accused the party of using “very deliberate dog whistles” to question his place in Scotland.

The Scottish Labour leader said people were “scunnered” with politics and were looking at ways to express their frustration.

He warned that Nigel Farage did not care for Scotland, but said he did not care for Mr Farage.

It comes after Reform UK spent thousands of pounds on a Facebook ad showing a video of Mr Sarwar delivering a speech in 2022, where he urged more people from Pakistani and South Asian backgrounds to get involved in politics.

It quotes Mr Sarwar as saying: “Pakistanis need (to be) represented in every mainstream political party in Scotland and across the UK.”

Another clip shows Mr Sarwar saying: “The days where South Asian communities get to lead political parties and get to lead countries is upon us.”

The clip, the beginning of which appears to have been edited so Mr Sarwar’s comments begin mid-sentence, is preceded by the words “Anas Sarwar has said he will prioritise the Pakistani community”.

The video ends with the words “only Reform UK will prioritise the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse”, urging people to vote in the by-election on June 5.

The video had previously been posted by an anonymous Twitter account earlier this year and had circulated among the far right of UK politics.

Scottish Labour had described the ad as “blatant racism”.

But speaking to the PA news agency in Blantyre, Mr Sarwar said while it was “very clear” Reform UK were using “very deliberate dog whistles”, he did not think their voters were racist.

He said: “Let me be really clear here, I think many of the people who identify with Reform, I imagine many people who are thinking about voting Reform, actually, I don’t think they’re racist, I don’t think they’re stupid, I don’t think that we should talk them down.

“People feel scunnered with politics and are therefore looking for other choices in terms of expressing that frustration.

“The best way of winning those people over is by improving their lives, and right now we have a Scottish Government that’s making life harder for people across our country, and that’s why we’re campaigning to change the Scottish Government and take our country in a new direction.”

Mr Sarwar, who was born in Glasgow to Pakistani Muslim parents, said the party was questioning whether he belonged in Scotland.

He went on: “They want to try and question my identity, my belonging and my loyalty to the country in which I was born, the country with which I identify, the country in which my children were born.

“I am a Scot, a proud Scot. Having worked in Scotland’s NHS, I want to deliver a fairer and better Scotland.

“What these guys are, are chancers who want to play on people’s fears, to divide us rather than actually deliver meaningful solutions for the people of Scotland.

“And frankly, the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse will see through it. And I’m pretty confident the people of Scotland will see it too.”

The Scottish Labour leader said he believed Scotland was a diverse and “welcoming” country, as well as the “greatest country on Earth”. But he said it needed to change.

“This is a phenomenal country,” he said, “and this country needs better leadership, it needs a new government, and only I can deliver that.

“It doesn’t need the politics of Nigel Farage.

“Nigel Farage doesn’t care about Scotland, and frankly, I don’t care about Nigel Farage, and I think John Swinney is letting down Scotland, and that’s why I want to remove him from office, and that’s why I want to elect a Scottish Labour government.”

Councillor Ross Lambie, Reform candidate for Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, said: “Reform UK has advertised Anas Sarwar’s own words, if he doesn’t like them, he shouldn’t use them.”

“Given the breaking story about Labour’s candidate hiding links to a ‘scandal-hit’ firm, his refusal to take part in debates and Anas Sarwar’s lack of action to condemn Labour activists who intimidated Reform members and vandalised our office, we’re not surprised at these dirty deflection tactics.

“Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse deserve better than Labour lies and spin.”

An SNP spokesperson said: “The Labour Party has lost its way and let down the people of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse locally and nationally.

“The rise of Farage is a direct result of Labour’s failure, and only the SNP is confronting that.

“Under John Swinney’s leadership, the SNP government is delivering on what matters to people – 150,000 extra NHS appointments and procedures, 100,000 more GP appointments, scrapping peak rail fares and keeping key bills lower than they are in the rest of the UK.

“This by-election is now a two-horse race, and the SNP is the only party that is on your side and the only party that can stop Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.”