SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar was asked what his message to independence voters was following a successful night for his party in the General Election.
Labour have so far won 37 seats in Scotland, while the SNP have nine and the Scottish Tories and LibDems are tied on five each.
We told how the Inverness, Skye and West Ross-Shire seat will go to a recount tomorrow meaning there is still one seat up for grabs north of the Border.
READ MORE: General Election 2024 result: Which SNP MPs are out of a job?
Speaking to the BBC on Friday morning, Sarwar was told that a lot of Yes supporters “lent their votes” to Scottish Labour and was asked what message he had for them.
He replied: “Look I think the first thing is to say thank you to people right across Scotland for putting their faith and trust in Scottish Labour, for voting for change and we want to get to work straight away.
“We’ll see that today, a UK Labour government delivering for Scotland but we also recognise that’s just one stage of the change because so many of the frustrations people in Scotland feel are actually in control of the SNP Scottish Government.”
Sarwar continued to dodge the question which had been put to him on Scottish independence although when pressed once again he replied: “Directly I say to people who supported independence in the past or indeed voted SNP in the past is I have always said in the three years I’ve been leader that I will turn my back on no one.
“I want to bring our country together and deliver the change and also recognise the frustration that so many of them had.
READ MORE: John Swinney delivers speech after difficult election night for SNP
“I think it would be wrong to pretend that somehow it was all just a tactical voting bloc. The reason why so many people have turned to Scottish Labour in this election is of course because they wanted to get rid of the Tories after 14 years.
“It is because they wanted a UK Labour government and change but also they’re so frustrated after 17 years of the SNP and they’re incompetence and failure.”
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