Anas Sarwar speaks of 'robust' conversations with Keir Starmer after difficult start for Labour Government

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Anas Sarwar has declared Scottish voters are his “boss” after being asked if he answered to Keir Starmer. The Scottish Labour leader also revealed “robust” conversations had taken place with the Prime Minister after a rocky start for the UK Government.Support for Scottish Labour has fallen in the wake of rising energy bills and Government decisions to cut winter fuel payments and deny compensation to so-called WASPI women.Speaking to the Record's Planet Holyrood podcast, Sarwar said of his dealings with his Labour counterpart:“Keir Starmer and I have a very close personal relationship.

We have a very close political relationship, and because we have a close personal and political relationship, we are able to have robust conversations that respect each other's position, respect each other's mandate and know it comes from the right place.”He added: “I'll continue to push a UK Labour Government to go further and faster to deliver for every part of the country, in particular Scotland.

But I'm not going to pretend that every problem is caused by Westminster or somehow I'm going to wait for Westminster to fix all our problems.“We have got the powers, we have got the resources, we have got the talent, we have got the people in Scotland to make a significant difference with the powers we have here in Scotland, but we have a government that deliberately chooses not to use it.”Asked if he is more loyal to the Scottish people or to the Labour government at Westminster, he replied: “My first priority will always be to the people of Scotland, because that's who I'm seeking to serve.”He was also asked if Starmer is his boss: “I lead the Scottish Labour Party and the people of Scotland are my boss.”Labour promised lower energy bills