Labour conference: Anas Sarwar suggests Scottish Labour will cut income tax if it wins power

Anas Sarwar attacked the SNP for ‘choking off opportunity’ during his Scottish Labour party conference speech

Anas Sarwar has signalled he will cut income tax for middle-earners if Scottish Labour wins power in Holyrood, calling the current situation “ludicrous”.

Addressing his party’s conference in Glasgow on Friday, the Scottish Labour leader attacked the SNP for “choking off opportunity and hurting families”.

He insisted Labour was “an unashamedly pro-growth, pro-business, pro-worker party”. It came as he told delegates another term of the Conservatives in Downing Street would be an “unbearable nightmare”.

Anas Sarwar at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

In a confident speech that nevertheless contained few concrete policies, Mr Sarwar emphasised the differences between his party, the Tories and the SNP as he also looked ahead to the Holyrood election in 2026.

First Minister Humza Yousaf raised taxes for higher earners as part of the Scottish Budget, which was published in December. A new income tax band is to be created for those earning more than £75,000, while the top rate will rise by 1p in the pound. Meanwhile, the threshold for paying the higher rate of tax – £43,663 – will be frozen.

Anyone earning more than around £28,500 in Scotland already pays more than if they lived elsewhere in the UK.

Addressing his party conference, Mr Sarwar said: “Whether you’re stuck on an NHS waiting list, struggling to put food on the table, or your children aren’t getting the opportunities they need, or your family member can’t access a social care package, everyone can see what's wrong with our country.

“And we have the ludicrous situation where we have a government that believes if you earn £28,500 in this country, you somehow have the broadest shoulders and you should be expected to pay more and get less in return. The SNP is being reckless with your money, and Scots shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for their incompetence.”

He said the Scottish Government had “resorted to using income tax as a substitute for economic growth”, adding: “This is choking off opportunity and hurting families and companies in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and a cost-of-doing business crisis. It is failing businesses in Scotland. Spurred on by the anti-growth Greens, the SNP has become an anti-business, anti-aspiration party.”

Mr Sarwar also took a dig at the SNP for its opposition to Labour’s plans to extend the windfall tax on oil and gas companies.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, a Scottish Labour spokesman said: “Our instinct would be to cut tax for working people.” However, he said it was too soon to give further details because the next Holyrood election is two years away.

He repeated: "Our intention is to lower the tax burden on working people.” Pressed on whether this meant fewer income tax bands, the spokesman said: “I’m not going to make comments on tax bands in a budget that may be more than two years away.”

Elsewhere, Mr Sarwar accused the UK government of “financial mismanagement on a monumental scale”.

In an impassioned plea to activists, the leader said: “Just imagine five more years of these Tories. Imagine five more years of Jacob Rees-Mogg, Priti Patel, Lee Anderson, Liz Truss, Suella Braverman and Rishi Sunak. What an unbearable nightmare.

“So it falls to us – and only us, the Labour Party – to bring back hope for our country, and the sooner we get rid of this entire shower of Tories, the better.”

With his party riding high in the polls ahead of the general election and narrowing the gap with the SNP ahead of the Holyrood poll in just over two years, Mr Sarwar said Labour’s job was “only starting”.

If elected at Holyrood in 2026, he pledged to be “responsible” with public money, claiming the SNP had been “reckless”, pointing to the delayed and over-budget ferries at Ferguson Marine and the near-£11,000 data roaming bill racked up by former health secretary Michael Matheson.

Mr Sarwar also pledged to pass on “every penny” of the expected £134 million in annual funding to Scotland from ending the non-dom tax status to the NHS if he becomes first minister, and to reform the planning process.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay accused Mr Sarwar of having “no vision, no plan and no policies”. She said: "Instead we were treated to more slogans, more catchphrases and nothing of substance. The only thing for certain was that Anas Sarwar doubled down on the fact that his party will decimate our energy industry and leave thousands of workers behind.”

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said: “It speaks volumes that in the course of a 7,000-word speech, Anas Sarwar made one passing reference to Scotland’s oil and gas sector.

“His boasts about growing the Scottish economy and reducing energy bills are fatally undermined by Labour’s desire to shut down this crucial industry and the 100,000 jobs it supports.

“Keir Starmer’s economically illiterate policy – the same as the SNP’s – has prompted a huge and justified backlash from business groups. Only the Scottish Conservatives will stand up for communities and jobs in the North East.”