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Anas Sarwar: There's no constituency in Scotland that Reform can win
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Jun 6, 2025
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has launched a scathing attack on Nigel Farage after his party's by-election win, declaring there is "no constituency" in the country that Reform UK can win.Speaking to GB News, Sarwar took aim at Reform UK "nonsense" and addressed viewers of the People's Channel directly, telling them there is "one choice" at the ballot box to take down the SNP.FULL STORY HERE.
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Right, Ben, with me now is Anasawa, the Scottish Labour leader
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Anasawa, you are delighted by last night's win. You said in your victory speech moments ago
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that you wanted Keir Starmer to go further. What does that mean? Look, what I'm saying here is that we've got to listen
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to what the voters told us here, and ultimately they told us three things
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One, they want rid of this SNP government that's done so much damage to our country over the last 18 years
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I know that would be a feeling felt by many GB News viewers in Scotland, and the only way of getting rid of the SNP
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is by supporting Scottish Labour next year in the Scottish Parliament elections. Don't listen to the noise or the nonsense from reform
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or indeed some of the commentators on GB News who want to amplify the nonsense of reform
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Instead, listen to what's happening here in Scotland. If you want rid of the SNP, only we in Scottish Labour can do it
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Secondly, they have rejected actually the politics of Nigel Farage and reform
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And third, they've also made clear that they do want a UK Labour government
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to go further and faster and demonstrably improving their lives. And I think that's a message we've heard loud and clear
1:00
But you were surprised by last night. You went against the odds against what most people thought would happen Look I wasn that surprised Of course we knew we were in the race We didn think we were guaranteed to win I think the most people that are surprised are the political pollsters the pundits
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the commentators and the bookies who, frankly, all got it wrong and we proved to them that the circumstance
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on the ground is very different than what they want to commentate on. They might want to focus and fixate
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on the rights and wrongs of a UK Labour government. They might want to fixate on issues
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that reform tried to bring to the table in this by-election. But what the people here care about
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is improving their lives and getting rid of this SNP government. So I say quite clearly and openly to any GB News viewer in Scotland
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if you want to get rid of the SNP, if you want a change of government
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if you want a different direction, whatever your views on a multitude of issues
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next year the choice is this, a third decade of the SNP with John Swinney in charge
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or a new direction of Scotland with a Scottish Labour government. So if you want to beat them, you've got to vote Scottish Labour
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Are you worried about the appeal of reform? They won 58 votes, 58 votes in 2021
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more than 7,000 last night. They ran your team a close third
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Why are people turning to Reform UK in Scotland? Well I think there a few different factors I think there was always quite a significant Conservative Party vote in this constituency That clearly has transferred en masse to reform Secondly there will be people who are frustrated with both governments and therefore chose to vote reform as the kind of protest vote in this by
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But next year they got a chance to change the government by supporting Scottish Labour. And third, some of them will have fallen for the frankly nonsense spouted by John Swinney
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where he pretended that this was a straight choice between the SNP and reform
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So people thought maybe they had to support reform in order to beat the SNP
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That is clearly proven not to be the case. So I say quite simply, if you want to get rid of the SNP
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if you want to end the damage that has been done to our country by the SNP
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if you want to get onto the right priorities, not the obsessions of the nationalists, then you have to support Scottish Labour next year in the Scottish Parliament
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If they win, say, mid-20s MSPs going on last night's results on the list system next year
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they may keep you out of office. you might have to form some form of coalition with reform to form a government
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No, I don't accept that because the system here is, of course, you have the first past the post seats and then you have the list seats
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There is not a single constituency in the country that reform can win And in the vast majority of constituencies it is a straight choice between Labour and the SNP So if you want to get rid of the SNP you need to support Scottish Labour
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And if we overwhelmingly win the constituencies, I believe that makes sure that we have a Scottish Labour government
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and the SNP are removed from office. What's your message now to Nigel Farrow? He's probably bought a kilt now. He'll be up here more often, won't he
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All I'd say is good morning, Nigel. Ian Mubarak, and I hope you enjoy the result last night
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And it's very funny. Will you debate him on GB News? out of the election next year
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Well, look, next year's election is not about Nigel Farage as much as Nigel Farage will want to make it about him
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So in advance of that election, if Nigel Farage wants to challenge me on my views
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no problem, I'll challenge him on his views. But next year, in the Scottish Parliament election
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he can keep his nonsense elsewhere because the choice is not between Nigel Farage and Scottish Labour
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It's not between Nigel Farage and John Swinney. The choice next year is a simple one
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Either it's going to be John Swinney as First Minister or it's going to be me. And if you want to end the rule of the nationalists, if you want to stop a third decade of them
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if you want to end the risk of independence, if you want to stop SNP waste
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if you want to end the wrong priorities of the SNP government, you only have one choice to do it
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And that's by supporting Scottish Labour
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