Scottish Labour urges Keir Starmer to stay out of Holyrood campaign

<p>Anas Sarwar says prime minister’s missteps have left party clear underdogs in run-up to May election</p><ul><li><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/jan/05/uk-venezuela-response-starmer-trump-labour-conservatives-latest-news-updates">UK politics live – latest updates</a></p></li></ul><p>Keir Starmer and senior ministers have been urged by Scottish Labour to “stay behind their doors” in Whitehall to avoid turning the next Holyrood election into a referendum on UK government failures.</p><p>Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, said the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/19/keir-starmer-labour-leadership">prime minister’s policy failures and missteps</a> had left voters “angry, frustrated and impatient”, leaving his party clear underdogs before May’s election.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/05/scottish-labour-poll-ratings-anas-sarwar-keir-starmer-holyrood-race">Continue reading...</a>