![\"Anas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/huffpost_uk_744\/8ba23ebc58640b93a64e6444defb2962.jpeg\"\/)
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Anas Sarwar and Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander at Scottish Labour’s spring conference in February. Jeff J Mitchell via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Andy Burnham <\/a>has been hit by a backlash after giving a life peerage and government job to Scottish Labour <\/a>leader Anas Sarwar.<\/a><\/p>\n Scottish Labour MPs are said to be\u00a0“furious” at the move, which comes seven months after Sarwar called on Keir Starmer to quit <\/a>as prime minister over the Peter Mandelson<\/a> scandal.<\/p>\n Since then, Sarwar has led Labour to its worst ever performance at the Scottish Parliament elections, where the party came a distant second to the SNP and saw its number of MSP fall to just 17.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, he has been rewarded by Burnham, who has made him a minister for state in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.<\/p>\n Because he is not an MP, Sarwar has also been made a life peer so he can take up the role.<\/p>\n He is also stepping down as Scottish Labour leader, plunging the party north of the Border into fresh turmoil.<\/p>\n One Scottish Labour MP told HuffPost UK that the new PM’s decision had gone down\u00a0“very, very badly”.<\/p>\n The MP said:\u00a0“There are 37 Scottish Labour MPs all capable of being ministers. We don’t need to import more. We are furious.”<\/p>\n Sarwar has also been accused of\u00a0“engineering” his move south with Scottish secretary Douglas Alexander, his close ally who also played a key role in Labour’s disastrous Holyrood campaign.<\/p>\n “Colleagues believe that both Anas and Douglas have failed upwards,” an MP said.<\/p>\n But another Labour MP said: “Good luck to Anas. He gave heart and soul to leading Labour in Scotland.<\/p>\n “No one will take his promotion away from him so long as his first vote is to abolish the House of Lords.”<\/p>\n