Anas Sarwar says Margaret Thatcher 'decimated' Scotland

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has said Margaret Thatcher "decimated" Scotland after the ex-prime minister was praised by Sir Keir Starmer.

Sir Keir said in a newspaper article that Baroness Thatcher helped free the UK from a "stupor" and set loose the UK's "natural entrepreneurialism".

The UK Labour leader later said he was stressing her "sense of purpose".

Mr Sarwar urged people to read Sir Keir's Sunday Telegraph full column rather than just the headline.

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But he told BBC Scotland News: "Margaret Thatcher destroyed communities across this country - she decimated Scotland."

Mr Sarwar added: "I don't think she has a good legacy in any part of our country, and in particular here in Scotland."

He said Scots had been right to "bitterly oppose" the former prime minister.

The Scottish Labour leader said the current Conservative Party was exhibiting "modern day Thatcherism", adding: "Actually they've gone so extreme I imagine Margaret Thatcher would be calling them out as well."

Former prime minister Margaret Thatcher was deeply unpopular in many working-class communities

First Minister Humza Yousaf and SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn have condemned Sir Keir's comments.

Mr Sarwar pointed to 2008 comments from former SNP leader Alex Salmond, who said Scots "didn't mind" the economics of Thatcherism but "didn't like the social side at all".

The Scottish Labour leader said he would "take no lectures or lessons from an SNP that actually wants to keep the Conservatives in government when it's Labour trying to get rid of them".

Mr Salmond, who has led the Alba Party since 2021, said he had been "fighting the poll tax when Anas [Sarwar] was in short trousers".

He described Mr Sarwar's comments as "desperate and ridiculous" and accused Sir Keir of engaging in a "love-in with Thatcherite policies".

Alba Party leader Alex Salmond has hit back at Anas Sarwar

Sir Keir also came under fire from Labour figures.

Former Labour MSP Neil Findlay described the comments as an insult, while Tony Blair's former adviser John McTernan said they were "utterly unnecessary".

Labour MSP Monica Lennon said Baroness Thatcher's legacy "haunts" the country.

Sir Keir defended crediting Baroness Thatcher as a leader who effected "meaningful change".

'Driving sense of purpose'

He told the BBC's Broadcasting House that the point of his article was to compare what he described as the "drift" of recent years with the "sense of mission" of previous leaders.

"It doesn't mean I agree with what she [Thatcher] did, but I don't think anybody could suggest she didn't have a driving sense of purpose," he said.

UK Health Secretary Victoria Atkins accused the Labour leader of trying to "ride on the coattails" of Baroness Thatcher.

Mr Sarwar's comments follow a number of disagreements between the Scottish and UK Labour leaders, though they have been keen to emphasise a cordial working relationship.

The pair have previously diverged over the two-child benefit cap and more recently over calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Not for the first time in recent months, Anas Sarwar has made it clear he disagrees with Sir Keir Starmer.

But, similar to issues like a Gaza ceasefire and the two-child benefit cap, Mr Sarwar was keen to avoid directly criticising the UK Labour Leader.

In contrast to Sir Keir's warm words, Mr Sarwar had nothing but condemnation for the impact Margaret Thatcher had on Scotland.

The two Labour figures have similar politics and clearly work quite well together.

But there's the occasional awkward moment where their views diverge.

Mr Sarwar seems to be getting adept at distancing himself from certain comments Sir Keir makes without sticking the boot in too hard.

But the Scottish Labour leader would probably prefer that praise of Tory grandees was kept to a minimum as he eyes up Scottish gains in the next election.