THERE has long been a single truth to Scottish politics — trust must be earned close to home.

With the Holyrood elections fast approaching, Scottish Labour had a clear strategic choice to make.

The party north of the border is now ready to earn that trust — not by simply echoing others, but by leading with clarity, ambition and pride.

Following the Labour Party conference in Liverpool last week, I can say Anas Sarwar is setting out a bold, confident vision rooted in Scotland’s priorities, institutions and people.

In the upcoming Holyrood elections, Scottish Labour can no longer simply be called a “branch office,” but a movement with deep roots in every community, along with a plan to deliver real change.

Holyrood elections are decided on devolved issues such as schools, the NHS, social care, housing, transport and local government — the everyday fabric of Scottish society.

After all, it is the Scottish Parliament that is responsible for much of what shapes voters’ daily lives.

Scottish devolution was a Labour achievement, and it must now be forged into an advantage.

Scottish Labour ought to be confident in setting out how devolved powers can be used to rebuild the public realm, championing a practical programme that delivers social justice, a fairer and more predictable fiscal framework, along with a long-term plan that empowers cash strapped councils, colleges and health boards.

Leadership is beginning to speak the language of Scottish choices — funded, sequenced and delivered in Scotland.

And, for the first time in a generation, Scottish people will have the opportunity to help us begin a new chapter after nearly two decades of SNP failure and complacency.

We have a Labour government in Westminster for the first time in 14 long years — imagine what could be delivered with a Scottish Labour first minister working hand in hand with Labour counterparts in London.

With Scottish Labour at the helm in Holyrood, we could stabilise the NHS by cutting back on bureaucracy and by embracing digital innovation and technology.

Front-line services will be at the heart of a Scottish Labour government, which would cut waste and undertake a fundamental reorganisation of quangos and public money — ensuring accountability and value for money.

Scotland also has the potential to become a world leader in green technologies because the country is extremely well placed to drive forward the energy transition we need.

However, for too long under the SNP, opportunities have been squandered while complacency set in.

On the other hand, Labour has the skills, ambition and plan to deliver.

Scotland is blessed with extraordinary potential for renewables — powerful offshore winds, tidal waters, hydroelectric capacity and a proud engineering heritage.

These assets should make us a clean energy superpower — and under Labour, they will.

GB Energy has already been established with headquarters in Scotland, driving investment in renewables and ensuring profits benefit the public, not private monopolies.

Renewables have the potential to create tens of thousands of jobs in the sector while Labour would also deliver a local power plan with up to 1,000 community energy projects — ensuring the benefits are shared across Scotland.

Creating this kind of energy security will help end our reliance on volatile global energy markets while ensuring Scotland leads the UK and Europe in the race to net zero.

A just transition must protect workers and bring along communities so no-one is left behind.

For nearly two long decades, the SNP has talked big on renewables but Scotland still faces grid bottlenecks and stalled projects.

In that time, they have become the very Establishment they once claimed to fight.

John Swinney’s track record is a catalogue of failure — a managed decline, not progress.

Fresh out of ideas, energy and time, the SNP is no longer a movement for change but a party clinging to power.

Scottish Labour is about delivery, not delay. With Anas Sarwar at Holyrood and Keir Starmer at Westminster, Scotland can seize this moment — creating jobs and powering homes.

The party in Scotland has carved out its own agenda for devolved issues, while some may argue that distinctiveness risks tension with UK Labour, Scottish Labour had to become a true government-in-waiting for Holyrood.

Because when we sound Scottish — in policy, in priorities and in ambition — we win the opportunity to lead.

Next year’s elections will be a contest about competence and vision.

It will also be a test of respect on whether parties trust Scotland with its own future.

If Scottish Labour hopes to govern, it must embrace the challenge and pass that test with strong conviction.

In 2026, Scottish electors will choose who they trust to run our schools, hospitals, care, transport and local services.

It will be an opportunity for Scotland to turn the page on failure and write a new chapter of hope.

With Anas Sarwar at Holyrood and Keir Starmer at Westminster, Labour will deliver for Scotland — investing in people, rebuilding public services and leading the green transition that leaves no worker or community behind.

Brian Leishman is member of Parliament for Alloa and Grangemouth.