Scottish Labour leadership: Anas Sarwar denies being 'one of the few'

A candidate for the Scottish Labour leadership has denied being "one of the few" as he defended his family's firm over its failure to pay the real living wage to all staff.

Anas Sarwar said United Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd did not pay everyone the real living wage of £8.45 an hour because it was "voluntary".

But he said a Labour government would make the wage mandatory for all firms.

Mr Sarwar's minority shareholding in the firm is said to be worth £4.8m.

But he said he was not a director in the company, had "no say" in how it operates and did not receive any remuneration from it.

Mr Sarwar is standing against fellow MSP Richard Leonard in the Labour leadership contest, which was sparked by Kezia Dugdale's resignation last month.

The Glasgow MSP has also faced questions over his decision to send his children to a private school in the city.

In an interview with the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme he was asked whether that decision, alongside his involvement with United Wholesale, meant he was "one of the few" rather than "one of the many".

Mr Sarwar responded: "No I don't accept that at all. The reason why I am in the Labour Party is because Scotland has cradled my family, it has nurtured my family, it has given it success.

"The reason why I am in the Labour Party is because I don't choose to opt out of politics, I choose to fight for equality and fight for opportunity."

United Wholesale has recently advertised jobs which pay £7.50 an hour - the same as the legal minimum wage but less than the voluntary £8.50 "real living wage" promoted by anti-poverty campaigners including Scottish Labour.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has pledged to introduce a £10 an hour minimum wage if his party wins power at Westminster.

When asked why United Wholesale did not currently pay the real living wage to all staff, Mr Sarwar responded: "The difference is that I don't support a voluntary real living wage.

"I support a mandatory real living wage. I don't think it is right that the market dictates what a fair day's pay is. That is why I want it to be a compulsory policy."

He went on to say: "I am a minority shareholder in the company. I have no role in the company, I am not a director in the company.

"I have no say in how the company operates but I have heard assurances from the company that they do want to transition to a real living wage for all employees."

Mr Sarwar said also said he was sure people would respect the decision that he and his wife had made to educate their children privately at Hutchesons' Grammar, which has annual fees of about £10,000 per pupil.

He added: "The fact is too many of our schools aren't good enough in Scotland. Too many teachers aren't getting the resources they need and we have 4,000 fewer teachers in our school system."

Mr Sarwar and Mr Leonard are to go head-to-head in a leadership hustings in Glasgow on Wednesday evening - the first in a series being held across the country over the coming weeks.

Ahead of the debate, Mr Leonard - who is seen as being the most left-wing of the two candidates, received the formal backing of the country's largest trade union, Unite, and the train drivers' union Aslef.

He was endorsed by the TSSA transport union last week, and is expected to also win the support of all of the other major trade unions.

But Mr Sarwar is expected to be backed by the majority of the party's parliamentarians.

The winner of the leadership contest is due to be announced on 18 November.