Sarwar refuses to say if PM will address this month’s Scottish Labour conference

Anas Sarwar has refused to say if the Prime Minister will be at Scottish Labour’s crucial party conference later this month.

Scottish Labour leader Mr Sarwar was repeatedly asked if Sir Keir Starmer would address the conference – which is taking place just more than two months before the Holyrood elections.

However, the Scottish Labour leader would only say that it was an “election rally conference” and as he was the “candidate for first minister” he would be “leading the conference”.

The UK Labour leader would traditionally make a keynote speech to the party’s annual Scottish conference.

This year’s event is to be held at the end of February, coming after a poll found about half (51%) of people in the UK want to see Sir Keir replaced as a Labour leader.

Asked if Sir Keir would be addressing Labour supporters in Scotland at the conference, Mr Sarwar told journalists: “It’s an election rally conference, I’m the candidate for first minister and I will be focusing on what the election is going to be about in Scotland.”

Asked if that meant the Prime Minister would not be attending Scottish conference, the Scottish Labour leader added: “I’m leading the conference, I’m the candidate for first minister.

“It’s a one-day rally conference about the election, I’m leading that election campaign, I’m the candidate for first minister and I will be the person projecting from the platform.”

While Mr Sarwar is campaigning to remove John Swinney as First Minister after 19 years of SNP rule in Scotland, the latest pre-election poll showed his party in third place in the run-up to the May 7 vote.

A YouGov survey published last week suggested Reform UK had opened up a clear lead over Scottish Labour for second place, with Nigel Farage’s party – which is led north of the border by former Tory peer Malcolm Offord – having a five-point lead over Labour.