Anas Sarwar has unsheathed the dagger. In a move of breathtaking ruthlessness, the Scottish Labour leader has decided that to save his party in the north, he must kill the King in the south.

Politics is often described as a game of loyalty, but in reality, it is a game of survival. Anas Sarwar, once one of Keir Starmer’s most reliable lieutenants, has proven this axiom with brutal clarity. By calling for the Prime Minister’s resignation, he has crossed the Rubicon, transforming a simmering internal disagreement into an open civil war.

The calculation is cold, hard, and desperate. Scottish Labour is bleeding. The polls show support plummeting to 18% as the contagion of the Mandelson scandal infects the party’s prospects ahead of the Holyrood elections in May. Sarwar has looked at the numbers and decided that Starmer is no longer an asset; he is an anchor, dragging the Scottish party down to the seabed.

The Ruthless Streak Exposed

This is not a decision born of high-minded morality, but of raw political necessity. Sarwar is gambling that the Scottish electorate will reward his defiance. He is betting that by declaring his primary loyalty to Scotland rather than to the Westminster whip, he can staunch the flow of voters to the SNP, Reform, and the Greens.

However, the risks are catastrophic. If Starmer survives—and the Cabinet’s firewall suggests he might—Sarwar is a dead man walking. He will be the provincial leader who missed the kill, left isolated and powerless within the national structure. "Idiotic, immature and self-defeating" is how his critics in London are describing the coup attempt.

The Fallout

The strategy relies on a rapid execution. Sarwar needs Starmer to go, and to go now. If the Prime Minister limps on, the Labour Party faces the worst of all worlds: a divided house campaigning against itself.

• The Voter Disconnect: There is a danger that voters will see this not as strength, but as chaos. If the public already feels let down by Labour, a messy regicide might look like self-indulgent melodrama rather than leadership.
• The Opponent's Gift: The SNP and the Tories are watching with glee. Sarwar has handed them the perfect attack line: Labour is a party in turmoil, led by a lame duck in London and a traitor in Edinburgh.
• The End Game: Sarwar has shown he has the stomach for the fight. But in striking at the King, he has ensured that there is no turning back. It is victory or oblivion.

Anas Sarwar has rolled the dice. He has chosen to sacrifice his relationship with the Prime Minister to save his own political skin. History will judge whether this was a masterstroke of independence or a suicide pact.