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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Libby Brooks and Severin Carrell

The SNP may have won again but Scottish politics has been upended

Defeated Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar leaves the stage at the Glasgow International Arena
Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, conceded defeat with only a handful of constituencies declared. Photograph: Robert Perry/Getty Images

Long before the final votes were counted in Scotland, veteran Labour politicians said it was a defeat made in Downing Street.

When the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, strode into the Glasgow count arena on Friday afternoon flanked by sombre-faced activists, the scene was a mirror image to the same venue in 2024, when his resurgent party won 36 seats from the Scottish National party, playing a significant part in Keir Starmer’s landslide victory.

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