Sarwar: 'You've given the SNP 20 years - give me five to fix the mess'
The Scottish Labour leader will launch his party’s manifesto today
Anas Sarwar has made a direct appeal to voters to give him five years “to fix the mess” caused by two decades of the SNP.
The Scottish Labour leader said his first priority would be to cut NHS waiting times, end the 8am rush for a GP and “bring back the family doctor”.
He will launch his party’s manifesto today ahead of the Holyrood election on May 7.
The SNP said no one would believe a word Mr Sarwar said because of the “disastrous” record of the UK Labour government.
A poll at the weekend put Labour on course for its worst performance in a Scottish Parliament election, returning just 15 MSPs.
In contrast, YouGov’s first full MRP (multilevel regression and post-stratification) poll of the Scottish election campaign found the SNP on track for an overall majority, with 67 MSPs.
“Scotland needs change after 20 years of SNP government,” Mr Sarwar said. “We have all seen the mess John Swinney and the SNP have made over those 20 years.
“Waiting lists have soared, patients are being left in pain, families are paying more and getting less, and too many people feel our country is stuck.
“You’ve given the SNP 20 years and Scotland has paid the price. Give me five years to fix the mess, save our NHS and deliver the change Scotland needs.”
He added: “My first priority as First Minister will be to put our NHS first by cutting waiting times, ending the 8am rush for a GP and bringing back the family doctor.
“But this manifesto is about more than that, it is about transforming Scotland, making life more affordable, creating jobs and opportunity, building more homes, backing our schools, fixing our roads and ending government waste.”
In its manifesto, Labour will promise to make life more affordable for families by topping up tax-free childcare to £3,000 per child and funding two weeks of summer holiday clubs.
It will also pledge to create jobs and opportunities with 9,000 new apprenticeships, as well as building 125,000 new homes and supporting first-time buyers.
Elsewhere, the party will promise to abolish the “unfair” business rates system and replace it with a local business levy, while also ruling out income tax rises for the next five years.
SNP depute leader Keith Brown said: "People in Scotland will be thinking 'we've heard this all before'. Anas Sarwar stood with Keir Starmer and promised voters 'change' two years ago but Brexit Britain is more broken than ever.
"Anas Sarwar told Scotland to trust Keir Starmer, he told us the Labour Party would bring energy bills down and he told us they would save Grangemouth. Well, Starmer has been a disaster, energy bills are up and Grangemouth has closed. No one will believe a word Sarwar says now.
"We know what we get with the Labour Party - we already have one disastrous Labour government, we don't need another one.”
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: “Scottish voters know they can’t trust Labour after being subjected to nearly two years of broken promises and U-turns by Keir Starmer and [Chancellor] Rachel Reeves.
“Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour campaigned tirelessly to install this dud Prime Minister in Downing Street, and they need to own the consequences of his disastrous government.”
She added: “Scotland desperately needs change after 19 years of decline under the SNP – but Labour can’t offer that change because they’re part of the same failed, left-wing Holyrood consensus.”
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