Why Anas Sarwar is not a hypocrite to call for abolition of the Lords and accept a peerage
‘It is not practical for a party in power at Westminster not to have members in the Lords’
Anas Sarwar has said more than once in recent years that he wants to abolish the House of Lords.
Now he has accepted a place in it - but that doesn't make him a hypocrite.
The SNP takes a principled stand against accepting peerages because it does not approve of an unelected second chamber.
But however much Labour politicians might share that disapproval, it is not practical for a party in power at Westminster not to have members in the Lords when its legislation must be passed there as well as in the Commons.
Some Labour MPs might grumble about Mr Sarwar getting a peerage in order to join Andy Burnham's new government as a Trade Minister when there are plenty backbench Labour members in the Commons ready and willing to serve.
But Labour needs ministers in the Lords and an offer to serve in Andy Burnham’s new government was one Mr Sarwar couldn't realistically be expected to refuse, even though it means giving up his roles as an MSP and Scottish Labour leader.
Mr Sarwar did the right thing by not resigning immediately after the Holyrood election in May and abandoning the party to its defeat. But in spite of his assertion that he intended to stay until the next election, many expected him to go at some point. The opportunity came sooner than he might have expected.
It is almost routine for former MPs who want to remain active in politics to be handed a seat in the Lords. The number of MSPs given peerages is much smaller, but there are still several former Holyrood politicians now on the red benches, including former Labour First Minister Jack McConnell and ex-Scottish Tory leaders Annabel Goldie and Ruth Davidson.
Former Lothian MSP George Foulkes - who has been a peer since 2005, two years before he was elected to Holyrood - spoke in 2009 about how he wanted to abolish the second chamber, even though it would put him out of a job.
And no doubt if a reforming Labour government brought forward plans to scrap the House of Lords, Anas Sarwar would happily vote for them.