Scottish Labour leader hails ‘historic day’ after dramatic wins

Speaking on the banks of the River Clyde in Glasgow, surrounded by new MPs, Mr Sarwar said people in Scotland had put their “faith and trust” in the party.

He said: “For far too long, they have looked at our politics here in Scotland and across the UK and thought that politics could not work for them, that somehow all they could ever get was governments that care about themselves, not about public service; politicians who would always put their party before the country.

“The people you see around me today, these new Scottish Labour MPs – and aren’t there so many of them? – they are not going to Westminster to sit on the opposition benches, to shout, to protest, and ultimately come back with nothing.

“They are going to sit on the government benches, to sit round the table and make decisions for the people of Scotland. That is the change that people have voted for.”

Mr Sarwar also set his sights on the next Scottish Parliament election in 2026.

He added: “Yes we ended 14 years of Tory chaos, but there has been 17 years of SNP incompetence too.

“So today we start the hard work of change with a UK government delivering for the people of Scotland, but we also redouble our efforts to we together can deliver change in 2026 with a Scottish Labour government too.”