Anas Sarwar accuses SNP of 'cover up' over party's failings in office

Anas Sarwar will today accuse Humza Yousaf’s SNP of a “cover up” over its failings in office as he campaigns in the first minister’s constituency.

The Scottish Labour leader will deliver a keynote speech in Yousaf’s Glasgow Pollok seat in a direct challenge to the new FM.

Sarwar will say: “As they turn inwards and fight among themselves, the SNP have completely forgotten what matters.

“When you have a party that cares only about dividing the country, it’s no wonder that the party itself is now irretrievably divided.

“Those divisions were of course always there, beneath the surface, only kept at bay by Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell as they used their power to shut down dissent and disagreement.

“And just like they covered-up the truth about their own party, they tried to cover-up their failings in office which have weakened every single institution in Scotland over the past 16 years.

“But Humza Yousaf is no Nicola Sturgeon.

“The festering wounds in the SNP have opened, replacing cover-up and secrecy with incompetence and delusion.

“This distracted and divided government is disastrous for Scotland.

“So, no, I won’t just stand back and allow the nationalists to inflict further damage on our communities and our people.

“I will fight for change; because change is what the people of Scotland deserve.”

The speech follows polling which suggests Yousaf’s constituency may be at risk at the next Scottish Parliament election.

And it comes as questions over the SNP’s finances and governance remain headline news.

Yousaf ally Kaukab Stewart, the SNP MSP for Glasgow Kelvin, said: “This desperate intervention by Anas Sarwar is laughable and the irony of Labour lecturing about divided parties is not lost.

“Labour is nothing but a pale imitation of the Tories – whether it’s on Brexit, immigration or infringing on Scotland’s parliament, the Westminster parties are two sides of the same old coin.

“While taking nothing for granted, the SNP continues to top the polls as, under Humza Yousaf’s leadership, we deliver every day for the people of Scotland. It’s no wonder the opposition is absolutely rattled.”