Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics
The former leader stepped down after being offered a peerage and a trade minister role by Prime Minister Andy Burnham
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
<i>(Image: PA)</i>
Photograph: Glasgow Times (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Anas Sarwar said leading Scottish Labour was the hardest job in British politics, harder than leading the UK Labour Party in opposition.
- He stepped down as Scottish Labour leader after Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered him a peerage and a role as trade minister in July 2026.
- Three MSPs, Michael Marra, Joe Fagan and Monica Lennon, are competing to replace him, with Labour having won only 17 seats in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
- Sarwar urged the candidates to avoid public infighting and focus on rebuilding the party’s relationship with voters.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 8 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
68/100
Craft
67/100
Hype
15/100
8 sources · methodology
Missing from the right
None of the 8 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
A reader who follows the right would not have seen this. We report the absence rather than explain it: outlets choose what to cover for many reasons, and we have no evidence about which one applies here.
Anas Sarwar said leading Scottish Labour was the hardest job in British politics, during an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe on 28 July 2026. It was his first public appearance since resigning as an MSP and as leader of the party, a role he held for more than five years. He stepped down after Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered him a peerage and appointed him as a trade minister in the UK Government.
Sarwar made the remarks to comedian Matt Forde, saying he had heard people describe leading the UK Labour Party in opposition as the hardest job in British politics. He disagreed, calling the Scottish Labour leadership harder. He said the party had struggled to communicate its vision during the spring election campaign, which was overshadowed by international news and a scandal involving former Labour strategist Peter Mandelson. Labour won 17 seats in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election, its worst result since 2003.
Three MSPs, Michael Marra, Joe Fagan and Monica Lennon, are competing to replace Sarwar. He declined to endorse any candidate but warned them against public infighting. He said the next leader would need the support of all 17 Labour MSPs to rebuild the party’s relationship with voters. Sarwar also said he was still "heartbroken" over the election result, as reported by the Daily Record.
The left-rated reports led on Sarwar’s claim that leading Scottish Labour was the hardest job in British politics. The Daily Record and the Glasgow Times quoted his full remark: "Honestly, hand on heart, because I’ve done it for five years, the hardest job in British politics is being the leader of the Scottish Labour Party." Both reports also carried his admission that the party had failed to "cut through" during the election campaign, and his warning to the leadership candidates to avoid infighting.
The Daily Record reported that Sarwar was still "heartbroken" over the election result, and that he had wanted to become First Minister. The Herald Scotland’s digest mentioned Sarwar defending his move to the House of Lords amid infighting in the party. The Scotsman’s digest noted that his resignation had caused "outrage" among party members. The Independent and the Irish News digests both reported that he had stood down after being made a government minister and sent to the Lords.
The centre-rated reports also led on Sarwar’s claim about the difficulty of leading Scottish Labour. The Glasgow Times quoted his remark that the job was "the hardest job in the world." The National’s digest reported that he had warned leadership contenders against infighting. The Evening Standard’s digest, like the Independent’s, stated that he had stood down after being made a government minister and sent to the Lords.
No right-rated outlet ran this story at all. None of the digests from the left or centre mentioned that Sarwar denied being offered the position of Secretary of State for Scotland, as reported by the Daily Record. The cost of the leadership contest and the timeline for selecting a new leader were also not mentioned in any of the reports.
Coverage settled. We checked this 24 times and stopped on 14 Aug 2026, 22:15. The figures above are what it finished at.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Anas Sarwar is now a trade minister in the UK Government
Daily Record — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
6 rated outlets
- The left-rated outlets all reported that Anas Sarwar called the Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics. They noted his resignation last month after accepting a peerage and a UK Government ministerial role. The digests and the Daily Record’s report agreed he did not endorse any of the three candidates to succeed him.
- The Daily Record led on Sarwar’s claim and quoted his description of the role as "the hardest job in British politics". It carried his admission of being "heartbroken" over the May election result and his view that Scottish Labour had failed to "cut through" during the campaign. The digests did not include these remarks.
- Five of the six outlets mentioned Sarwar’s move to the House of Lords. The Daily Record and The Herald Scotland’s digest linked it to internal party tensions. The Scotsman’s digest said his decision had caused "outrage among party members". None of the digests quoted Sarwar’s denial of being offered the position of Secretary of State for Scotland.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports agree that Anas Sarwar called the Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics. Both note he made the remark at the Edinburgh Fringe after stepping down as an MSP and being appointed to the House of Lords.
- The Glasgow Times led on Sarwar’s claim that the role is harder than leading the UK Labour Party in opposition. It quoted his warning to leadership candidates against infighting and his refusal to endorse any contender. The Evening Standard digest did not mention these details.
- Neither the Glasgow Times report nor the Evening Standard digest included the names of the three MSPs competing to replace Sarwar. The Glasgow Times was the only outlet to specify that Monica Lennon had not yet secured enough support to join the ballot.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right ran this story. We watched the coverage until it stopped changing, and none appeared.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British…?
- Of the 8 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 75% are rated left, 25% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 8 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British… biased?
- Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British…?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British…?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- Why did Anas Sarwar step down as Scottish Labour leader?
- Anas Sarwar stepped down after Prime Minister Andy Burnham offered him a peerage and appointed him as a trade minister in the UK Government in July 2026. He had led Scottish Labour for more than five years and resigned as an MSP to take the new role.
- What did Anas Sarwar say about leading Scottish Labour?
- Anas Sarwar said leading Scottish Labour was the hardest job in British politics, harder than leading the UK Labour Party in opposition. He made the remark during an interview at the Edinburgh Fringe, saying the role was "the hardest job in the world" for many reasons.
- Who is running to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader?
- Three MSPs, Michael Marra, Joe Fagan and Monica Lennon, are competing to replace Anas Sarwar as Scottish Labour leader. Lennon has not yet secured enough support to appear on the ballot, as reported by the Glasgow Times.
- How did Scottish Labour perform in the May 2026 election?
- Scottish Labour won 17 seats in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election, its worst result since 2003. Anas Sarwar said he was "heartbroken" over the outcome, as the party struggled to communicate its vision during the campaign.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
6- Scottish Labour leader is 'hardest job in UK politics', says Anas Sarwar (opens The National in a new tab)
The National — is The National biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anas Sarwar defends moving to House of Lords amid Scottish Labour infighting (opens The Herald Scotland in a new tab)
The Herald Scotland — is The Herald Scotland biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anas Sarwar says 'my interest is in government' as he defends joining Lords (opens The Scotsman in a new tab)
The Scotsman — is The Scotsman biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar (opens Irish News in a new tab)
Irish News — is Irish News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Anas Sarwar Claims Scottish Labour Leader Is 'Hardest Job in British Politics' (opens Daily Record in a new tab)
Daily Record — is Daily Record biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
2- Anas Sarwar says being leader of Scottish Labour is hardest job in British politics (opens Glasgow Times in a new tab)
Glasgow Times — is Glasgow Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar (opens Evening Standard in a new tab)
Evening Standard — is Evening Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
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