Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claims his SNP rival Humza Yousaf is seen as the MSP for “Glasgow Tayside” because he lives so far from his constituency.
Mr Sarwar raised the concern while campaigning in the first minister’s Pollok area, about 80 miles from Mr Yousaf’s home in Broughty Ferry.
He was in the area to capitalise on the SNP’s crisis-hit few weeks following Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation.
Speaking in the Glasgow constituency, Mr Sarwar insisted the SNP leader’s party had “neglected” the local area while in power.
He told us: “Ultimately the people of this constituency will be the judge of whether they have an elected member that is on their side and doing their job in representing them fairly.
‘Remote and distant’
“I would argue he hasn’t been. You have an MSP that represents Glasgow, lives in Dundee, works in Edinburgh, and people feel he’s very remote and very distant from this community.
“We want to go out and win the argument based on the merits of our individual candidates and our party, rather than just the negatives about the sitting elected SNP members.”
Mr Sarwar added: “He was described to me by one punter in Glasgow as the MSP for Glasgow Tayside.”
During the SNP leadership race we hit the streets of Cardonald, in Mr Yousaf’s Glasgow Pollok patch, to ask local voters if they knew he stayed in Dundee.
Some said it was “ridiculous” he lived so far away, while others weren’t quite as worried provided he did his job as an MSP.
Mr Yousaf grew up in Glasgow and still lived in the city when he was first elected to Holyrood in 2011.
He moved through to Broughty Ferry five years ago just before marrying his wife, Nadia El-Nakla, who is an SNP councillor in Dundee.
At the time, a spokesperson for Mr Yousaf said he had moved away from Glasgow in the “best interests” of his family.
‘Fully committed’
They maintained he remained “fully committed” to serving his constituents in Pollok, adding: “Regardless of Humza’s future roles, his time will continue to be split between Glasgow, Dundee, and Edinburgh.”
During the race to succeed Ms Sturgeon, Mr Yousaf was backed by every single elected politician in Dundee.
The city’s status as a key power base for the party was then solidified when he made local MSP and SNP veteran Shona Robison his deputy.
Mr Sarwar – who attended the same southside private school as the SNP leader – declined to say whether he will stand directly against Mr Yousaf in the next Holyrood election.
The Labour leader still lives in the city and competed against Ms Sturgeon for her neighbouring Glasgow Southside seat in 2021.
Mr Sarwar told us: “It’s for local members to decide who their candidates are in individual constituencies.
“We’re nowhere near selecting our candidates for 2026.”
He jokingly added: “I’m sure I can try and find a local party somewhere in the city of Glasgow that’s willing to support me as a candidate. I’m confident of that.”
Mr Sarwar challenged the SNP leader to hold an early Holyrood election since the next nationwide vote is penned in for 2026.
The Labour chief warned Mr Yousaf’s party was “divided and distracted” as the row over their finances rumbles on following Peter Murrell’s arrest.
Ms Sturgeon will not appear in Holyrood in-person this week when MSPs return, fuelling speculation she could quit.
Mr Sarwar said: “If Nicola Sturgeon is going to resign and, of course, that is a matter for Nicola Sturgeon, it’s a matter for the SNP, not a matter for me, but I am more interested in us having a wider election.”
While speaking in Pollok, Mr Sarwar also said he was confident Labour can pick up another Westminster seat if a by-election is held in Margaret Ferrier’s seat.
The former SNP MP, who has been an independent since she broke Covid rules in 2020, could be ousted in Rutherglen and Hamilton West if she is suspended.
The SNP was approached for comment.
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