Anas Sarwar makes direct appeal to SNP voters after resignation of Nicola Sturgeon

Anas Sarwar has made a direct appeal to SNP voters as he insisted Nicola Sturgeon’s party will “turn inward” following her shock resignation.

The Scottish Labour leader repeatedly positioned his party as the “change Scotland needs” during a keynote speech at its three-day conference in Edinburgh.

He said: “In the weeks ahead, the SNP will only be talking to themselves, about themselves. But our country, now more than ever, requires politicians focused on delivering the change Scotland needs.”

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Elsewhere, Mr Sarwar pledged his party would create a “£1 homes scheme” if it won power, buying up neglected houses and selling them on for just £1 to future owners. It would then give buyers a government-backed loan to transform them into homes “that will be lived in and loved”.

Scottish Labour leader Anas SarwarScottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar

Mr Sarwar said there are 27,000 long-term empty homes “blighting our neighbourhoods”.

He also said his party was committed to an Amazon Tax in Scotland. A spokesman said it would consult on creating a special business rate targeted at large-scale warehouses that do not deliver products to physical shops. He suggested this would raise upwards of £20 million in its first year.

Mr Sarwar told activists: “As we look towards the next general election, this is a generation-defining moment in our history.”

He called on those who have previously voted for the Conservatives not to “reward their incompetence with your vote”.

And he said he wanted to make a “direct appeal to people who have voted SNP in the past”, adding: “We understand your desire for change. We share it. We recognise your desire to get rid of the Tories. We share it.

“We know you dream of a brighter future. It’s a dream we share. Because this isn’t as good as it gets. You deserve better. Scotland deserves better. Change is possible.”

Mr Sarwar said every vote for the SNP and the Tories is a vote to “block change”.

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Earlier, Jackie Baillie, the deputy leader of Scottish Labour, launched a scathing attack on SNP health secretary Humza Yousaf, who is currently considering a bid for the SNP leadership.

Ms Baillie, who is also her party’s health spokeswoman, told the conference he was “without a doubt the worst minister I have ever had the misfortune of shadowing”.

She added: “Having been the worst health secretary on record, his condition has deteriorated further. He now aspires to be the worst first minister on record. The lack of self-awareness might be considered by clinicians to be delusional.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “Anas Sarwar is taking voters for fools if he expects them to swallow his claim that Labour will stand up to the SNP and protect the union.”

He added: “The truth is Anas Sarwar’s party vote with the SNP 90 per cent of the time, while naively touting more constitutional concessions in a doomed bid to placate them. He has been gushing in his praise for Nicola Sturgeon, instead of calling out her record of failure.”