Scottish Labour Party deputy leader Anas Sarwar quits

Scottish Labour Party deputy leader Anas Sarwar quits

Anas Sarwar has quit his role as deputy leader of the Scottish Labour party to allow the new leadership team to be 'focused on the Scottish Parliament', the Scotsman reported.

"I will remain focused over the next seven weeks on ensuring Labour hold both the British and Scottish governments to account and on getting the best outcome for Scotland out of the Smith Commission process for more powers for the Scottish Parliament", Sarwar told guests at a fundraising dinner in Glasgow, the newspaper reported.

Sarwar will continue the post as an acting leader, until Johann Lamont's successor is elected by the party on December 13, the newspaper said.

The current head of the Scottish National Party, Alex Salmond, had announced his resignation shortly after the campaign for independence was defeated on Sept. 18.

Last week, Labour's leader in Scotland, Johann Lamont, unexpectedly quit, highlighting divisions within the party by launching a scathing attack on what she called the "dinosaurs" among its London leadership. She didn't name him, but complained that the Scottish party was treated like "a branch office," a comment widely seen as criticism of Labour leader Ed Miliband.

The poll conducted by Ipsos MORI, showed Labour could lose 90 per cent of its lawmakers in Scotland with just 23 per cent of voters planning to back the left-leaning party, which has been hurt by the rising popularity of the Scottish National Party.

Spokesperson for both Scotland Labour Party and Anas Sarwar could not be immediately reached for comments.

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