Anas Sarwar gears up as Scottish Labour leadership contest opens ANAS Sarwar is expected to announce his bid to become the next leader of Scottish Labour after the party fixes a timetable for replacing Richard Leonard today. The Glasgow MSP, who lost to Mr Leonard in the last contest four years ago, was said by friends to be “actively considering” a run after being approached to stand. Steeped in politics from childhood as the son of former Glasgow Labour MP Mohammad Sarwar, the 37-year-old former NHS dentist was already the clear frontrunner. Central Scotland list MSP Monica Lennon, her party’s health spokesperson at Holyrood, is also touted as a possible candidate but has yet to signal her intentions.