Burnham Courts Scotland and Wales as Sarwar Heads to the Lords
The new Prime Minister opened a charm offensive with the devolved nations, winning cautious goodwill from the Scottish and Welsh first ministers, who said he seemed readier to listen than Sir Keir Starmer. In a linked move, the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, is standing down to take a peerage and a ministerial post, reshaping the party’s leadership north of the border less than a year before the Holyrood election.
The Welsh First Minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, said Mr Burnham was “open to listening perhaps in a way that Keir Starmer wasn’t”, pressing for policing, rail and funding to be devolved. Scotland’s John Swinney said the Prime Minister had promised a “collaborative” relationship, while watching whether the retained Scottish Secretary matches the warmer words. Mr Sarwar’s elevation to the Lords, expected to bring a business ministry, removes a sitting leader from Holyrood politics at a delicate moment. Watch whether the devolution overtures translate into concrete transfers of power or stay at the level of mood music.