by LAUREN CODLING
SCOTTISH Labour leader candidate Anas Sarwar has said he opposes a second independence referendum as he wants to “strengthen Scotland’s place in the UK, not weaken it”.
In a wide-ranging interview with Eastern Eye, Sarwar said: “We should be transforming and changing Scotland instead of focusing on the divide.”
The son of Mohammad Sarwar, who served as a Labour MP for Glasgow Central from 1997 to 2010, making him the first Muslim to sit in British parliament, also spoke about how his father’s experiences had “put him off” being in politics.
“[My father] faced a lot of prejudice and abuse, a lot of negativity and controversy,” Sarwar said, before he changed his mind about seeking public office.
The second-generation Pakistani-Scot also revealed the extent of hate crime directed at him, saying he and his family experienced Islamophobia on a “daily basis”, receiving death threats and hate mail. “You’ve just got to take it on,” Sarwar said stoically.
The Glaswegian, running in the November election after former Scottish Labour MP Kezia Dugdale resigned in a shock decision at the end of August, spoke about his ambition to lead the party and the future of the region’s whisky industry following Brexit.
If he wins, Sarwar would be the first ever ethnic minority party leader in UK history.
“I think at a time when you see the forces of division and prejudice, and Islamophobia and racism on the rise around the world, we could send a very positive message about our politics here in Scotland,” he said.
“What makes me different in this contest is under my leadership people will be in no doubt in which way the Labour party stands and where we stand in the UK. I want to strengthen Scotland’s place in the UK, not weaken it.
“I said after the election in 2016 the biggest challenge we faced in Scotland was not just getting people to vote for us, but winning the right to be listened to. I think we’ve won the right to be listened to again since the election in June.
“We now must persuade the people in Scotland we have the energy, the idea and ability to form not just a UK government but a Scottish Labour government as well. That’s our biggest challenge.”
The 34-year-old has had a lengthy career in the Labour party; in the 2010 General Election, Sarwar was elected as MP for the Westminster constituency of Glasgow Central, succeeding his father.
He continued in this role until 2015, before being elected to Holyrood in 2016.
If elected, Sarwar wants to propose a Scottish leavers scheme, to guarantee every school leaver a job, training place or apprenticeship; it is reported that 10 per cent of young people in Scotland are not in education, employment or training.
Sarwar also spoke about getting young people interested in politics, and hoped to lead by example.
“How can we engage more young people of different backgrounds, young Asians included, into the political process and make them realise many of the issues they care about and are passionate about require political solutions? I hope through this leadership contest and beyond it, I can be a demonstration in that,” he said.
Of the current Labour leadership, Sarwar said he is “fully behind” Jeremy Corbyn.
“He has proven he has reached beyond the traditional base of the Labour party, that he can win an election and lead us to victory and be prime minister. I think we’ve all got to unify and get behind him.”
Among his priorities is tackling rising Islamophobia and working to provide equal opportunities for minorities.
In Scotland, Islamophobic hate crime has doubled in the last year. Between 2015 and 2016, offences rose by 89 per cent, according to a report by the Scottish government’s Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion.
Sarwar wants to encourage Muslims to engage in the “wider political framework” to discuss issues that can show others they have the “same hopes and aspirations as anybody else in our communities”.
“[Muslims] have the same concern about their kids getting a quality education, a loved one getting a good level of treatment in NHS or a social care place. How we curb Islamophobia is making people recognise, understand and celebrate difference,” he said.
Sarwar added: “Young Asians have a very difficult time in terms of accessing training places or accessing university or getting that first chance or even that second chance. One of the policy commitments we’ve made is to create a Scotland guarantee – it will benefit every community including young Asians.”
And with trade, he hopes to secure the future of whisky. There are currently 98 malt distilleries in the country and at £4.3 billion, the industry accounts for more than 85 per cent of Scottish food and drink exports and nearly a quarter of the British total.
Sarwar said: “India has a lot of trade with Scotland around the whisky industry and that is something we want to promote trade links between Scotland the rest of the world.”
In the run-up to the election, Sarwar is continuing to campaign against his Holyrood colleague Richard Leonard MSP and asserted he is the candidate to “unite” the Scottish Labour party.
“I’m not willing to accept that our politics have become so inward looking, divisive and narrow,” he said. “I want to create a more open, diverse and outward-looking politics in Scotland. “I believe I’m the best candidate to unite our party and to lead us back into government, not just in the UK but beyond in Scotland and be the Scottish first minister.”
Bob Blackman MP speaks during the event