Topic summary
Anas Sarwar
14 March 1983
Anas Sarwar, Baron Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish Labour and Co-operative politician who has served as Minister of State for Trade since July 2026, having previously served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2021 to 2026. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Central from 2010 to 2015, when he lost his seat to the SNP's Alison Thewliss and then a regional Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow from 2016 to 2026.
Born in Glasgow to British-Pakistani Muslim parents, Sarwar was privately educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School and studied general dentistry at the University of Glasgow. He worked in Paisley as a dentist until being elected as the MP for Glasgow Central at the 2010 general election when he succeeded his retiring father, Mohammad Sarwar. During his time in the House of Commons he served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014.
Sarwar lost his seat to the Scottish National Party (SNP) at the 2015 general election. He was elected at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election on the Glasgow regional list. Having been defeated at the 2017 Scottish Labour leadership election by Richard Leonard, he was elected as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party in the 2021 leadership election. Sarwar led Scottish Labour into the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, which saw Scottish Labour remain in opposition with two fewer Labour MSPs than at the previous election. He was defeated by the incumbent first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, in Glasgow Southside but was returned on the Glasgow regional list.
At the 2024 United Kingdom general election Labour won with a landslide victory, winning 411 seats across the United Kingdom, with Scottish Labour winning 37 of the 57 Scottish seats in what was also considered a landslide. Sarwar led Scottish Labour into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, standing for the new Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok constituency. He was defeated by the SNP's Zen Ghani, a 24 year-old candidate, but was re-elected as a Glasgow regional list MSP. He stood down as an MSP and Labour leader in July 2026 to serve as Minister of State for Trade in the Burnham ministry.