Anas Sarwar: Difference between revisions

Anas Sarwar
MSP
Anas Sarwar MSP
Leader of the Scottish Labour Party; Acting
	In office; 24 October 2014 – 13 December 2014
Preceded by	Johann Lamont
Succeeded by	Jim Murphy
Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party
	In office; 17 December 2011 – 13 December 2014
Leader	Johann Lamont
Preceded by	Johann Lamont
Succeeded by	Kezia Dugdale
Member of the Scottish Parliament; for Glasgow
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 6 May 2016
Member of Parliament; for Glasgow Central
	In office; 6 May 2010 – 30 March 2015
Preceded by	Mohammad Sarwar
Succeeded by	Alison Thewliss
Personal details
Born	March 14, 1983 (age 41); Glasgow, Scotland, UK
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Furheen Ashrif (m. 2006)
Children	2 sons
Relatives	Mohammad Sarwar (Father)
Alma mater	University of Glasgow
Website	Official website

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Anas Sarwar, (born 14 March 1983)^[1] is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since the May 2016 election.

He was previously the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from 2010 until his defeat in 2015, and Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014.

Early life

Anas Sarwar was born in Glasgow to Mohammad and Perveen Sarwar.^[2] He is the youngest of four siblings.

Education

Sarwar was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, an independent school in Glasgow, and studied dentistry at Glasgow University. He graduated in 2005, becoming an NHS General Dental Practitioner before becoming an MP in 2010.

Political career

Sarwar has been a member of the Scottish Labour Party since the age of 16 and was previously part of the team which campaigned successfully to save Govan Shipbuilders in 1999, collecting more than 80,000 signatures. Sarwar was an executive member of Scottish Young Labour, and joined the Co-operative Party, the Fabian Society and the trade unions Unite and Community.^[3]

Sarwar has served as a vice-chair of Progress. ^[4] He is described as a centrist.^[5]

Scottish Parliament election, 2007

For the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections, Sarwar was selected to stand as the number one regional list candidate for the Glasgow region.^[6] He was a member of Labour's Scottish Policy Forum which was responsible for drawing-up the Labour manifesto for that election.

Sarwar's attempt to enter Holyrood failed at the election when Labour lost control of the Scottish parliament for the first time.^[7]

Member of Parliament

Sarwar was elected at the 2010 UK general election as MP for Westminster constituency of Glasgow Central, succeeding his father Mohammad Sarwar, who was the first-ever Muslim MP in the UK. He increasing the previously held majority.^[6] He was later elected by his colleagues to serve on the International Development Select Committee. His parliamentary interests include foreign policy and international development. His specific areas of concern are Palestine and Kashmir.^[8]

Sarwar is also Co-Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and was a member of the Welfare Reform Bill Committee.^[9]

At the 2015 UK general election, Sarwar lost the Glasgow Central seat to Alison Thewliss of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party

In December 2011, Sarwar was elected Scottish Labour deputy leader receiving 51.10% of the vote.^[10] In 2012, he co-ordinated the Scottish Labour Party's Referendum Campaign.^[11]

Following the resignation of Johann Lamont on 25 October 2014, Sarwar became the Acting Leader of Scottish Labour, until a new leader was elected. On 30 October he resigned as deputy Scottish leader at a Labour Party dinner in Glasgow.

From 5 November 2014, Sarwar was briefly Labour's shadow spokesperson for International Development.^[12]

Controversies

"Bedroom Tax" vote

In 2013, Sarwar took a strong line in attacking both the "Bedroom Tax" and the Scottish Government for its failure to mitigate its worst effects.

However, during a vote on its repeal in the House of Commons on 13 November 2013, Sarwar had abstained, causing outrage amongst Scottish nationalists.^[13]

It subsequently emerged that on the day of the vote, Anas Sarwar was in Pakistan, giving a speech to students at Hajvery University, and so was paired off with a Conservative MP, cancelling out the two votes.^[14]

Independent school

In 2014, Sarwar came under criticism for choosing to send his son to Hutchesons' Grammar School, an independent school and the same school that he himself attended, rather than a state school. MSP John Wilson stated: "Anas Sarwar once again highlights the hypocrisy of the Labour Party – talking of social justice and defending public services while sending his own child to a private school."^[15]

Awards

In January 2013, Sarwar was awarded the Politician of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.^[16] In January 2015, he was awarded the Spirit of Britain award at the British Muslim Awards.^[17]

References

^ "Anas Sarwar". Democracy Live. BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
^ "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
^ anassarwar.org^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Progress annual conference 2011 - Progress - News and debate from the progressive community".
^ "Kezia Dugdale steps down as Scottish Labour's leader". The Economist. 2 September 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Biography " Anas Sarwar MP | Working Hard for Glasgow Central". Anassarwar.org. Retrieved 13 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Peterkin, Tom (18 December 2011). "Anas Sarwar is the brightest of the bright young things – Politics". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
^ "'I never thought I'd have to fight a political battle for my own country', says Labour MP".
^ "Anas Sarwar". Scottish Labour. 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
^ "Johann Lamont named new Scottish Labour leader". BBC News. 17 December 2011.
^ "Anas Sarwar to co-ordinate Labour's Scottish Referendum Campaign".
^ "Anas Sarwar given new Labour international role". Herald Scotland.
^ "Scots Labour MPs slammed after bedroom tax no-show". 14 November 2013.
^ Why Scotland needs a strong independent online news media, 17 November 2013 Archived 25 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine
^ Labour's deputy leader under fire for sending son to Glasgow private school www.heraldscotland.com, 26 January 2014
^ "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled". Asian Image. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

External links

Official website
Party website
Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
Voting record at Public Whip
Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou
Video interview after winning his seat in 2010 at Catch21
Son could replace retiring MP Sarwar, The Herald, 23 June 2007
Election shows politics runs in the family, The Herald, 1 May 2007
Biography^{[permanent dead link]}, Sarwar 4 Glasgow

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Mohammad Sarwar	Member of Parliament for Glasgow Central 2010–2015	Succeeded by Alison Thewliss
Party political offices
Preceded by Johann Lamont	Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party 2011–2014	Succeeded by Kezia Dugdale
Preceded by Johann Lamont	Leader of the Scottish Labour Party Acting 2014	Succeeded by Jim Murphy

[1] "Anas Sarwar". Democracy Live. BBC News. Retrieved 25 July 2010.

[2] "Who's Who". Ukwhoswho.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012.

[3] ssarwar.org^{[permanent dead link]}

[4] "Progress annual conference 2011 - Progress - News and debate from the progressive community".

[vecono-5] "Kezia Dugdale steps down as Scottish Labour's leader". The Economist. 2 September 2017.

[anassarwar1-6] "Biography " Anas Sarwar MP | Working Hard for Glasgow Central". Anassarwar.org. Retrieved 13 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[7] Peterkin, Tom (18 December 2011). "Anas Sarwar is the brightest of the bright young things – Politics". Scotsman.com. Retrieved 13 March 2012.

[8] "'I never thought I'd have to fight a political battle for my own country', says Labour MP".

[9] "Anas Sarwar". Scottish Labour. 20 February 2009. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

[10] "Johann Lamont named new Scottish Labour leader". BBC News. 17 December 2011.

[11] "Anas Sarwar to co-ordinate Labour's Scottish Referendum Campaign".

[12] "Anas Sarwar given new Labour international role". Herald Scotland.

[13] "Scots Labour MPs slammed after bedroom tax no-show". 14 November 2013.

[14] Why Scotland needs a strong independent online news media, 17 November 2013 Archived 25 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine

[15] Labour's deputy leader under fire for sending son to Glasgow private school www.heraldscotland.com, 26 January 2014

[asianimage1-16] "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[asianimage2-17] "British Muslim Awards 2015 finalists unveiled". Asian Image. 23 January 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2015. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

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@@ Line 40: / Line 40: @@
 '''Anas Sarwar''', (born 14 March 1983)<ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/hi/representatives/profiles/58360.stm
 |title=Anas Sarwar
-|publisher=BBC News|work=Democracy Live |date= |accessdate=25 July 2010}}</ref> is the [[Scottish Labour Party]] leader who has been a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Glasgow]] region since the [[Scottish Parliament election, 2016|May 2016 election]].
+|publisher=BBC News|work=Democracy Live |date= |accessdate=25 July 2010}}</ref> is a [[Scottish Labour Party]] politician who has been a [[Member of the Scottish Parliament]] (MSP) for the [[Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region)|Glasgow]] region since the [[Scottish Parliament election, 2016|May 2016 election]].
 He  was previously the [[Member of Parliament (UK)|Member of Parliament]] (MP) for [[Glasgow Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Glasgow Central]] from 2010 until his defeat in 2015, and [[Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party]] from 2011 to 2014.

v t e 2011 Scottish Labour deputy leadership election
Outgoing Deputy Leader: Johann Lamont
Winner	Anas Sarwar MP
Other nominees	Ian Davidson MP Lewis Macdonald MSP
Not nominated	Elaine Murray MSP

v t e Scottish Labour
Leaders	Donald Dewar (1999–2000) Henry McLeish (2000–2001) Jack McConnell (2001–2007) Wendy Alexander (2007–2008) Iain Gray (2008–2011) Johann Lamont (2011–2014) Jim Murphy (2014–2015) Kezia Dugdale (2015–2017) Richard Leonard (2017–2021) Anas Sarwar (2021–present)
Deputy leaders	Henry McLeish (1999–2000) Cathy Jamieson (2000–2008) Johann Lamont (2008–2011) Anas Sarwar (2011–2014) Kezia Dugdale (2014–2015) Alex Rowley (2015–2017) Lesley Laird (2017–2019) Jackie Baillie (2020–present)
General secretaries	Ben Shaw (1914–1931) Arthur Woodburn (1932–1939) John Taylor (1939–1951) Willie Marshall (1951–1977) Helen Liddell (1977–1988) Murray Elder (1988–1992) Jack McConnell (1992–1998) Alex Rowley (1998–1999) Lesley Quinn (1999–2008) Colin Smyth (2008–2013) Ian Price (2013–2014) Brian Roy (2014–2019) Michael Sharpe (2019–2020) Drew Smith (2020–2021) James Kelly (2021–2023) John Paul McHugh (2023–present)
Current MSPs	Jackie Baillie Claire Baker Neil Bibby Sarah Boyack Foysol Choudhury Katy Clark Pam Duncan-Glancy Rhoda Grant Mark Griffin Daniel Johnson Monica Lennon Richard Leonard Michael Marra Pauline McNeill Carol Mochan Paul O'Kane Alex Rowley Anas Sarwar Colin Smyth Paul Sweeney Mercedes Villalba Martin Whitfield
Current MPs	Ian Murray Michael Shanks
Organisation	Scottish Executive Committee Scottish Labour Conference Scottish Policy Forum Scottish Labour Students Scottish Young Labour Campaign for Socialism
Scottish governments	Dewar (1999–2000) McLeish (2000–2001) 1st McConnell (2001–2003) 2nd McConnell (2003–2007)
Leadership elections	1999 Dewar 2000 McLeish 2001 McConnell 2007 Alexander 2008 Gray 2011 Lamont 2014 Murphy 2015 Dugdale 2017 Leonard 2021 Sarwar
Deputy leadership elections	2000 Jamieson 2008 Lamont 2011 Sarwar 2014 Dugdale 2015 Rowley 2018 Laird 2020 Baillie

v t e Members of the Scottish Parliament in the Glasgow region
Elected in the 2021 election
Constituency MSPs	Bill Kidd (SNP, Glasgow Anniesland) James Dornan (SNP, Glasgow Cathcart) Kaukab Stewart (SNP, Glasgow Kelvin) Bob Doris (SNP, Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn) Humza Yousaf (SNP, Glasgow Pollok) Ivan McKee (SNP, Glasgow Provan) John Mason (SNP, Glasgow Shettleston) Nicola Sturgeon (SNP, Glasgow Southside) Clare Haughey (SNP, Rutherglen)
Additional members	Pam Duncan-Glancy (Lab) Sandesh Gulhane (Con) Patrick Harvie (Green) Pauline McNeill (Lab) Anas Sarwar (Lab) Paul Sweeney (Lab) Annie Wells (Con)
SNP (9 seats), Labour (4 seats), Conservative (2 seats), Greens (1 seat)