ANAS Sarwar has spoken out after his appointment to the House of Lords and as a trade minister was confirmed by Downing Street.
The former Scottish Labour leader led the party to its worst-ever Holyrood election result in May, returning 17 MSPs, down from their previous low of 22, which he also presided over.
He was also among the first to call for Keir Starmer's resignation as Prime Minister, becoming the highest profile Labour politician to do so at the time.
With Andy Burnham now in power, he has been given a role in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade as a Minister of State for Trade.
To take on the role he will have to resign from Holyrood due to a new rule against "double jobbing". It also requires him to be given a peerage to serve in Westminster as he has not been elected as an MP.
I’m delighted to be joining Andy Burnham’s Government as UK Minister of State for Trade. My full statement👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/8yAtfWV5rv
— Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) July 22, 2026
Sarwar said he is "delighted" to join the former Manchester mayor's government, adding that it has been "an honour" to serve the people of Glasgow, where he was elected through the regional list after failing to win in the Cathcart and Pollok constituency.
His four-page statement added elsewhere: "I’ve seen how Andy Burnham has worked to empower communities, to deliver change, to brings jobs and economic growth through working with businesses, to make Manchester a great place to live and do business. We have a job of work to do to replicate that in every corner of the United Kingdom.
"Britain has phenomenal talent – people bursting with ideas and energy, an entrepreneurial spirit and potential that needs unlocked and unleashed. That is what will drive me every day in this new role.
"Looking back over the last 5 years, I am hugely proud of the work we have done since I became Scottish Labour Leader.
"As a team, we rebuilt and renewed the party, leading the way in removing the Tories from office, taking Scottish Labour from 1 Member of Parliament in 2019 to 37 in 2024.
"And we always endeavoured to hold the Scottish Government to account and advocated for change in Scotland too. I am disappointed and sorry we couldn’t achieve a better outcome at the recent Scottish election. I take my fair share of responsibility for that."
Sarwar has previously, on multiple occasions, ruled out joining the House of Lords, calling the unelected chamber an "unacceptable" institution, and saying it should be abolished.
In 2024 he described democracy in the UK as "broken", adding that this could only be fixed if we "replace the House of Lords".
Just weeks ago he told his MSPs that he would "absolutely" not be resigning and vowed to fight on in Scotland.
These U-turns have led to criticism from within his own party, with Lauren Harper, a member of Scottish Labour's Executive Committee, branding the decision "shameful".
“Anas Sarwar has consistently failed Scottish Labour and its members,” she said.
“While I am happy to see the back of him as leader, it is a sad reflection on where we are as a party that he has been rewarded for five years of failure with a seat in the House of Lords .”
The First Minister has also called the move "hypocrisy", adding that he thinks it's a "terrible look" for the new Prime Minister.
Speaking to the Press Association, the First Minister said: “I think what it demonstrates is an appalling level of judgment by Anas Sarwar.
“He said before the (Holyrood) election he had absolutely no interest in going to the House of Lords, he only wanted to be first minister of Scotland.
“Then, after the election, Anas Sarwar has accepted a place in the House of Lords – a body, by the way, he wants to abolish.
“That is an incredible level of hypocrisy and it just illustrates what I think the Prime Minister is trying to address, which is the fact that politicians say one thing one minute and then do another thing the next minute, when it suits them.
“That, I thought, was what Andy Burnham was trying to address and to solve.
“But instead, Andy Burnham has exacerbated that sentiment within our society.”
Anas Sarwar's appointment was announced by Downing Street in a wave of 47 new ministerial appointments, along with 17 re-appointments.
