Anas Sarwar would welcome a Holyrood election if a snap poll was called despite forecasts showing he would miss out on becoming first minister.

Anas Sarwar has insisted he will “relish an election” if Holyrood Budget talks crumble - despite polling showing he would now fall short of becoming first minister.

The Scottish Labour leader was speaking in Glasgow ahead of Wednesday’s draft Budget being published by SNP finance secretary Shona Robison.

The Scottish Government will need to find the support of an opposition party to back the Budget legislation in February, but talks between the SNP and the Greens and Lib Dems - the two parties more likely to strike an agreement - still have a long way to go.

Scottish Lib Dems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton told The Scotsman that SNP ministers will have to “pull out all the stops” if his party is to be persuaded to back the Budget, while talks with the Greens remain ongoing.

Asked if Labour could support Ms Robison’s Budget, Mr Sarwar said: “We’ve engaged in good faith on the Budget process.

“We need to see a new direction from this Government, not just continue with the same SNP incompetence, the same SNP waste and new money going to fill another SNP black hole. It’s less about where they spend the money, it’s more about how they spend the money.”

As Labour swept to victory at Westminster in July, polling showed the party was on the brink of a Holyrood victory if an election was held.

But since Sir Keir Starmer has entered Downing Street, Labour’s favourability with the Scottish public has dropped.

The latest polling has them neck and neck or slightly behind the SNP, with forecasting showing Mr Sarwar’s only route to power would be in coalition with John Swinney’s party.

Asked about the now daunting prospect of facing a Holyrood election if the SNP cannot pass its Budget, a confident Mr Sarwar told The Scotsman that he would “take an election tomorrow”, adding: “I relish an election - I’m desperate for an election.”

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Photo: Jeff Mitchell/Getty Images | Getty Images

He said: “The country is ready for an election - the country is desperate to get rid of the SNP. All of the by-elections that have happened since the general election show the SNP is losing in every part of the country and they’ve actually lost 18 by-elections in a row.

“I want to get rid of a government that’s squandering opportunity and I want to make sure we use the £5 billion of additional money to make a meaningful difference to people’s lives. Sadly, that’s not going to happen with John Swinney and the SNP.”

Mr Sarwar admitted “there’s been teething problems in the early days of a UK government” that has dented Labour’s favourability with the public.

But he added: “I think people can see that all the UK’s problems didn’t start four-and-a-half months ago with the election of a UK Labour government and not all the UK’s problems will be solved with one Labour Budget or indeed four-and-a-half months of a Labour government.

“When it comes to the choice in 2026, perhaps even before, we will have a decision to make - do we want to carry on with what will be almost two decades of SNP failure and decline or do we want to take this country in a new direction? The only way we deliver that new direction for Scotland is if we elect a Scottish Labour government.”

Anas Sarwar will 'relish election' if SNP budget crumbles despite dire Labour polling

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