Labour can make 'significant gains' in Scotland, claims Sarwar

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has been speaking at the Labour conference in Liverpool

Anas Sarwar has claimed Scottish Labour can make "significant gains" in the next general election.

Mr Sarwar said Labour in Scotland will not be a "drag" on the party's ticket at the next election.

The Scottish Labour leader also claimed that Prime Minister Liz Truss was "more dangerous" than the late former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer used his conference speech in Liverpool to rule out working with the SNP.

Sir Keir said there would be "no deal under any circumstances" if Labour won the most seats at the next general election but was short of a majority.

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Labour has been in decline in Scotland over the past decade, falling to third place in Holyrood and in local authorities before its fortunes were reversed at this year's council elections.

At Westminster, only Ian Murray represents the party north of the border.

But Mr Sarwar, speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, predicted the party would see a resurgence north of the Border.

"I'm not going to put a number on it, but I want us to make significant gains," he told the programme.

Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer meeting voters in Edinburgh last year

"If we look at the council election results, we were in the game in around 13, 14 seats if that council election was reflected - I'm not saying we would have won 13, 14 seats, we were in the game in 13, 14 seats.

"I think in the context of a UK government where we're not just going to oppose the Tories, we're going to replace them, I genuinely believe we can make significant gains."

Mr Sarwar, who took charge of the party in Scotland ahead of last year's Holyrood election, criticised Liz Truss for "redistributing wealth from the poorest to the wealthiest" and claimed Labour would reverse this move if it won power.

He added: "I think Scotland is not going to be the drag on the ticket - Scotland's not going to be what stop us from having a UK Labour government.

"Scotland's going to help us deliver that UK Labour government."

And Mr Sarwar made a pitch to SNP voters to "get rid of the Tories" at the next Westminster vote.

The Glasgow MSP said independence supporters "might disagree with me on the final destination" with regards to Scotland's constitution but can still back Labour at the next general election.

No SNP deal

During his speech to the conference on Monday, Mr Sarwar claimed that the "politics of division" was used by Labour's political rivals to try and win elections.

He said: "While our opponents thrive on division, we know that real change comes when you pull people together.

"But in Scotland and across the UK, our politics has lost sight of that. I hate to break it to Liz Truss and Nicola Sturgeon, whether you voted yes or no, whether you voted leave or remain, your bills are going up."

In his conference speech, Sir Keir claimed Scotland needed a Labour government to deliver.

He said the SNP viewed Scotland's success in the UK as a "roadblock" to independence.

He added: "We can't work with them. We won't work with them. No deal under any circumstances."

The Labour leader also pledged to bring down energy bills, raise living standards and tackle the climate crisis, within 100 days of forming a government.