--- title: "Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics" category: "Politics" area: "United Kingdom" published: "2026-08-09T17:06:03.316Z" source_reported: "2026-08-09T16:42:38.335Z" updated: "2026-08-09T17:30:13.661Z" trust_score: 68 critic_score: 67 hype_score: 15 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-08-09T16:49:10.353Z" --- # 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* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 68 of 100, higher is better. Two independent full reports name Sarwar, Burnham and Forde, and specify the Edinburgh Fringe appearance. - Craft 67 of 100, higher is better. Facts are clearly separated from Sarwar’s quotes, with specific names and dates provided. - Hype 15 of 100, lower is better. Headline matches article content without exaggeration. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - 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. 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. ## Who covered it Shares of the 8 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 75% (6) - Centre: 25% (2) - Right: 0% (0) 0 of 8 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-08-09T16:49:10.353Z. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 10 times; 2 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-08-09T19:30:16.673Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left - 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 - 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 No separate framing summary. **Provisional coverage gap:** right. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - high: 6 - veryHigh: 2 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [The National](https://thenational.scot/news/26449022.scottish-labour-leader-hardest-job-uk-politics-anas-sarwar) — Scottish Labour leader is 'hardest job in UK politics', says Anas Sarwar - [Glasgow Times](https://glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottish-news/26448997.anas-sarwar-gets-candid-leader-scottish-labour) — Anas Sarwar says being leader of Scottish Labour is hardest job in British politics - [The Herald Scotland](https://heraldscotland.com/politics/westminster/26448952.anas-sarwar-quit-scottish-labour-leader-lords) — Anas Sarwar defends moving to House of Lords amid Scottish Labour infighting - [The Scotsman](https://scotsman.com/news/politics/anas-sarwar-says-my-interest-is-in-government-as-he-defends-joining-lords-8847486) — Anas Sarwar says 'my interest is in government' as he defends joining Lords - [The Independent](https://independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/anas-sarwar-scottish-labour-scottish-parliament-monica-lennon-people-b3030002.html) — Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar - [Evening Standard](https://standard.co.uk/news/politics/anas-sarwar-scottish-parliament-people-house-of-lords-andy-burnham-b1292835.html) — Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar - [Irish News](https://irishnews.com/news/uk/scottish-labour-leadership-is-hardest-job-in-uk-politics-sarwar-5FM6GDJJRNOKDJXNUGWPYC53JM) — Scottish Labour leadership is hardest job in UK politics – Sarwar - [Daily Record](https://dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/anas-sarwar-claims-scottish-labour-37530486) — Anas Sarwar Claims Scottish Labour Leader Is 'Hardest Job in British Politics' ## Questions **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. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Anas Sarwar calls Scottish Labour leadership the hardest job in British politics", https://mediabias.news/politics/anas-sarwar-calls-scottish-labour-leadership-the-hardest-job-in-british-politics