‘Move aside’, Anas Sarwar tells John Swinney

Anas Sarwar has told John Swinney to “move aside” as first minister as he sets his sights on Bute House after the next Holyrood election.

Addressing Scottish Labour’s conference in Glasgow, the leader said he was “submitting my application to be the next first minister of Scotland” and that his party “will win” next year.

Scottish Labour has been struggling the polls since the UK party took power in Westminster last summer.

A series of errors and political missteps has seen the party drop to its lowest support since devolution, putting it neck and neck with the Scottish Conservatives and far behind the SNP.

But, criticising the SNP’s record in government, Sarwar said Labour was the “only party that can replace” the SNP.

Sarwar said Labour would seek to build on the successes of the current and previous Scottish Governments – including free bus passes, the Scottish Child Payment, and free prescriptions and tuition – but argued the SNP was using these as “cover for a failing government”.

And he said the party “cannot meet the challenges of today, never mind tomorrow”.

He said: “They are tired, divided, and out of ideas. After nearly two decades in power, they’ve had their chance.

“If they were going to fix the problems, they would have done it by now… John Swinney claims he has steadied his ship. That’s exactly the problem – steadying the ship, moving numbers on a spreadsheet, managing decline. It’s not enough.”

The Scottish Labour leader said that one of his first acts if he became first minister in 2026 would be to declare a “national waiting times emergency” as part of his efforts to improve the NHS.

He also pledged to deliver a “proper” National Care Service, end rough sleeping, push through a Local Democracy Act to ensure fair funding for local government, and ban mobile phones in schools.

The SNP's depute leader Keith Brown dubbed the speech “lacklustre” and accused Labour of having a “litany of broken promises”.

He added: “Labour under Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer are in complete disarray - breaking promise after promise and seeing their support plummet as polls suggest they are locked in a battle for second place with Nigel Farage.  It is no wonder the sharks are beginning to circle around the Labour leader.

“While Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer flail from disaster to disaster, under John Swinney’s leadership the SNP is resolutely focused on the issues that matter to the people of Scotland – investing in and improving our NHS, taking action to tackle the cost of living by bringing back universal winter heating support and supporting jobs and economic growth.”