LABOUR have been trying to carve out a place for themselves in Scotland’s political landscape by pushing a politics of “despair”, Anas Sarwar has said.
The Scottish Labour leader also said his party had “doubled down” on the “politics of anger”, and had been busy trying to promote a new “type of division”. However, he said it was time to leave these tactics behind.
Sarwar said his party should try to defeat the “politics of division with the politics of unity” and the “politics of anger with the politics of empathy”.
The Scottish Labour leader also predicted that the Unionist side would win a second independence referendum should it be held tomorrow.
The Glasgow MSP was speaking to Matt Forde on The Political Party podcast when he made the comments.
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar: 'Scottish Labour pretended to function to get through election'
Forde said that Sarwar’s message was “laudable” and many people would agree with it, but “the electorate don’t necessarily seem to be taking that message on board”.
Sarwar accepted that his party had been “defeated” in Scotland for the last 15 years, but asked if Labour had genuinely tried to communicate the right message to voters.
He said: “We haven’t tried to defeat the politics of anger with the politics of empathy.
“What we’ve tried to do is take the politics of anger, double down on it and do our own version of anger, take the politics of despair and do our own version of despair, and try and win on that basis. And do our own different type of division.
“If we do that we ain’t going to win.
"The Labour Party often thinks, actually always thinks, that you win elections simply on the politics of ideas. I’m not suggesting the politics of ideas is not important ... but we’ve also got to compete on the politics of emotion.
“We have been defeated on the politics of emotion in Scotland for the last 14 coming on 15 years.”
Speaking about Nicola Sturgeon, Sarwar said he would give credit where it is due to an “excellent communicator” who could spin situations and narratives to her own ends.
However, he claimed that should a second independence referendum be held tomorrow, the Unionist side would win.
Sarwar said: “I honestly think if there was a referendum tomorrow [the Yes side would] lose, and I think they know that.
“And so all we are doing here is keeping Scotland on pause and repeat, pause and repeat, to hold a certain percentage of the population together so they stay in power.”
Forde, who said the podcast recorded with Sarwar was “one of the greatest episodes [he’d] ever recorded”, has previously sung the Scottish Labour leader’s praises on multiple occasions.
Ahead of the Holyrood election in May, Forde claimed Sarwar is “the most talented politician of the TV Debate age”.
He went on: “He’s almost uniquely suited to them. He’s able to be natural and likeable in such an unnatural environment. He’s so composed.
“If this was the race for the White House and not the race for Bute House, he’d win.”
The vote on May 6 saw Sarwar oversee his party’s worst ever defeat since the onset of devolution, returning fewer MSPs than ever before.
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