ANAS SARWAR claimed to be “ready for government” today, as Scottish Labour sought to reap the benefits of SNP disarray.
As speculation mounted over candidates seeking to be Scotland’s next First Minister, Mr Sarwar said that he was best placed to deliver “the change that Scotland needs.”
In a speech to Scottish Labour’s annual conference, he announced plans to tax online retailers and develop a Scottish arm of the national energy production company promised by British leader Sir Keir Starmer.
The “Amazon tax” would create a category of business rates targeting large-scale warehouses which do not deliver to shop fronts.
Scottish Labour says some such businesses currently get away with paying less in rates than smaller high-street retailers.
But Mr Sarwar also sought to reassure capital with the message: “Under my leadership, Labour is a pro-business, pro-growth party.”
He announced a “£1 homes scheme” under which houses would be compulsorily bought, sold for a peppercorn sum and then refurbished by new low-income buyers with loan support from government.
Mr Sarwar appealed to former SNP voters to “come together and boot the Tories out of Downing Street.”
After the speech, Mr Sarwar’s spokesman said: “Certainly, reaching out to [SNP voters] has become more important than before.”
His conference address in Edinburgh followed an announcement by SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf that he was “seriously considering” a bid for his party’s leadership and the Scottish government’s top job.
Mr Yousaf, who overlapped with Mr Sarwar at the private Hutcheson’s Grammar School in Glasgow, has served in the Scottish government since his election to Holyrood in 2011.
He has recently attracted both criticism and praise for his handling of NHS pay disputes, clashing with front-line workers but averting strikes among nurses and ambulance workers.
Other potential candidates for the SNP leadership include Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, who is considered to be on the right of the party in both economic and social terms.
Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson, who formerly led the party at Westminster, is considered to be an establishment candidate.
Keith Brown, the party’s deputy leader, is likely to appeal to the SNP grassroots as the champion of the party’s independence ambitions.
Ash Regan, a backbencher and prominent critic of the party’s gender recognition reforms, is also considering a run.
