Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar (Image: PA)

Anas Sarwar says Scottish Labour must 'communicate better' following by-election defeats

EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Labour leader said the SNP was trying to "pretend the world only started three months ago" rather than talk about their 17-year record in Government.

by · Daily Record

Anas Sarwar has said Scottish Labour must "communicate better" after it lost two council by-elections to the SNP last week.

The party leader insisted the incomes of pensioners across the country was rising thanks to the Triple Lock - despite a continuing backlash against a UK Government decision to means-test the Winter Fuel Payment.

Labour sources last week blamed the fall-out from the benefits row as one of the main reasons the party failed to gain two seats on Dundee City Council, despite a well-resourced local campaign.

An insider told the Record: "The Winter Fuel Payment policy and the freebies stories were talked about constantly by voters on polling day. These were the biggest factors in folk not coming out."

Sarwar was campaigning in Shotts and Holytown this week ahead of two by-elections in South Lanarkshire. Three other by-elections follow in Glasgow next month, with the SNP aiming pushing Labour hard in each.

Asked by the Record if he was worried the Winter Fuel Payment row was costing his party votes, the Scottish Labour leader said: "To be clear - the incomes of pensioners are going up. The triple lock meant pensions went up by £900 this year and are going up by £460 next year.

"In a two-pensioner household, their income is going up by more than £2,600 - at the same time they are losing a payment of £200 or £300 per household. So I think we need to be much better at communicating that.

"On Dundee, of course we want to win every by-election. But I do find it interesting the SNP wants to laud as a massive success the fact we lost one by-election by 32 votes and another by just 40, in an area where there was a 78 per cent swing to Labour.

"We want to win by-elections everywhere - in Lanarkshire, Glasgow, Dundee, everywhere across Scotland.

Sarwar added: "What the SNP want to try and do and pretend the world only started three months ago, rather than talk about what's happened over the last 17 years.

"Ok, we've got to defend our own record, but I think people understand we're getting on with cleaning up the mess, and will judge us over a matter of years. What the SNP can't escape from is a 17-year record of failure."

Sarwar was speaking before a vote in the Scottish Parliament calling on the UK Government to reverse the cut to the Winter Fuel Payment.

It saw wo of his colleagues - Alex Rowley and Richard Leonard - voted with the SNP to demand Chancellor Rachel Reeves think again.

Five others - Monica Lennon, Carol Mochan, Pauline McNeill, Rhoda Grant and Katy Clark - did not vote. Reeves caused anger after she announced a universal WFP would be replaced with a means-tested system.

Millions of older people across the UK will lose up to £300 and up to 900,000 Scots will be hit. After a debate at Holyrood, MSPs backed an SNP government motion to reverse the introduction of means-testing.

But Labour voted against the motion, a decision that sparked a major rebellion in Sarwar's ranks.

Scottish politics

To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.