SCOTTISH Labour leader Anas Sarwar compared First Minister John Swinney to Nigel Farage as he addressed party faithful in Paisley today.

Mr Sarwar appeared at the party’s one-day pre-election conference in the Paisley Town Hall, after a night that saw Labour beaten into third place in what had been its sixth-safest seat, and a morning which brought a YouGov poll for the Scottish Election Survey suggesting his party could plunge from third to fourth place, behind SNP, Reform and the Greens in May’s Holyrood elections.

Speaking to the poll, Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay warned: “We aren’t simply looking to challenge Labour, we want to beat them and replace them. 

“The result in Gorton and Denton wasn’t a fluke or an accident, it was a sign of what’s coming for Labour this May.”

But Mr Sarwar confidently told delegates: “In just 10 weeks, Scotland faces a choice.

“It’s our chance to elect a new government and a new first minister.

“So underestimate me and the people in this room at your peril, because this is an opportunity we will not miss.”

Declaring the election as choice between “managed decline with the SNP” and “new energy, new ideas and new leadership,” he continued: “My first priority and my first loyalty is to my country, Scotland.

“So, I want to take on the nonsense you will hear from the SNP and Reform.

“The SNP will say I am not for Scotland, Reform will say I am not Scottish enough.”

He said: “There are two kinds of politicians in this country.

“Those like John Swinney and Nigel Farage who see problems and use them to divide us, or leaders who see problems, take responsibility, and get to work fixing them.

“That is who I am.”

Rounding on the First Minister, he said: “John Swinney is banking on cynicism and exhaustion to drag him over the line.

“He is hoping people are so worn down that his shameful record is ignored, but this election isn’t about protest or about sending a message.

“It is about the patients waiting too long in pain for treatment, it is about the parents worried about their child’s safety and their future, It is about the 10,000 children with nowhere to call home.

 “It’s about our future.”