Labour revival ‘only half written’ says Sarwar as he targets 2026 Holyrood vote

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Labour’s revival is “only half written”, the party’s Scottish leader Anas Sarwar said as he set his sight on becoming the country’s next first minister in 2026.

Claiming that Scotland had been “stuck” with two “incompetent” governments, Mr Sarwar said that Labour’s victory in July’s general election had removed the Tories from power.

But, as he hit out at “two decades of SNP failure” north of the border, he said Scottish Labour would “finish the job” and oust them from power in Holyrood at the next election.

“That’s the next stage of change for Scotland,” Mr Sarwar told the Labour Party conference.

Addressing the UK-wide gathering in Liverpool, Mr Sarwar said: “The story of Labour’s revival is only half-written.”

He told party supporters: “For lots of you, there was only one incompetent government to get rid of.

“But in Scotland we were stuck with two.

“So, at the general election, we got rid of one incompetent government.

“And, in 2026, we finish the job and get rid of the other one.”

Hitting out at the SNP, which has been in power at Holyrood since 2007, Mr Sarwar said Scots had had to “watch public services crumble before their eyes because of two decades of SNP failure”.

Arguing that “fresh leadership” was needed, he insisted that “all the SNP offers is internal division and outward incompetence”, accusing them of having the “same tired people in power peddling the same old excuses”.

Mr Sarwar declared: “Frankly, the time is up for the SNP.

“They are a party that has lost their vision and lost their way.

“And above all, they have lost their ambition for Scotland.”

Adding that he is “determined” to bring about a “brighter and more prosperous Scotland”, Mr Sarwar told the conference: “At the general election, we did half the job.

“In 2026, it is our chance to finish the job by electing a Scottish Labour government that works for everyone in Scotland.”

His comments came as Scottish Secretary Ian Murray warned Labour can “take nothing for granted” in the run-up to the next Scottish elections in May 2026.

Mr Murray said: “It took us 14 years to get rid of one of Scotland’s two failing governments, but the real hard work started the day after the election to get rid of the other.”

Adding that there are “only 592 days” until Scots go to the polls for Holyrood, Mr Murray added: “As wonderful as July’s result was, we can take nothing for granted.”

To be successful then, he said that Labour must deliver for the Scots who had voted for them in this general election.

He told the conference: “Those who voted for Labour in Scotland on July 4 voted for change because they had been let down badly by their two governments.

“They did not come home to Labour. They chose us in the hope and expectation that we will deliver for them. And that is what we must, and are determined, to do.”

SNP MSP Kevin Stewart claimed Mr Sarwar’s speech was a “textbook example of putting party before people”.

Mr Stewart said: “Instead of standing up for Scotland against policies like the two-child cap, and Labour’s cut to the Winter Fuel Payment, he spent 10 minutes placating his Westminster bosses with empty words and meaningless slogans.”

He added: “Anas Sarwar is content to defend the indefensible, whether that be the two-child cap that is pushing 87,000 children into poverty or the withdrawal of the Winter Fuel Payment from 860,000 Scottish pensioners.

“Ian Murray and Anas Sarwar should also be explaining where the £150 million poverty fund they promised has gone.”

Mr Stewart said: “The SNP is the only party presenting a positive, hopeful vision of a more prosperous Scotland, which we can only achieve with independence.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “Anas Sarwar’s crowing about the election result is unlikely to impress Scottish voters who are already disillusioned with a grasping Labour Cabinet, which has gladly hoovered up thousands of pounds in freebies while betraying almost one million Scottish pensioners ahead of a difficult winter.

“While the SNP have done untold damage to Scotland over the last 17 years, the idea that Scottish Labour would represent change is for the birds.”

He added: “Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up to this tired and failing SNP Government, while Anas Sarwar’s Scottish Labour all too often backs them.”