“A VOTE for Scottish Labour in this election is not an endorsement of Keir Starmer,” Anas Sarwar told the Scottish TUC Congress today. “It’s not about two years of a Labour government, but 20 years of an SNP government.”

The Scottish Labour leader was at pains to distance himself from the Prime Minister, who was addressing MPs on the Peter Mandelson vetting scandal just as Mr Sarwar, who has already called on him to resign over that, spoke to trade unionists in Dundee.

He said a Labour government at Holyrood would change procurement rules to bring manufacturing back bome. “Under the SNP, buses are built in China, ferries built in Turkey and wind turbines shipped halfway across the world from Indonesia,” he complained.

He also stressed Labour’s “train here, stay here” policy for newly qualified doctors, dentists and nurses, which would commit them to working in Scotland for five years post-graduation or repay tuition support.

But he was warier of criticising Labour policy at British level.

He refused to condemn changes to immigration law affecting student visas — Labour had to “fix a broken immigration system,” he said.

And despite condemning the “illegal actions of Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump” as “a risk to lives in the Middle East and livelihoods across the globe,” he indicated he would not challenge Britain’s facilitation of the Iran war through allowing the United States to use our military bases.

Asked by the Morning Star if he would call as first minister for the withdrawal of US forces from RAF Lossiemouth or challenge their use of Prestwick airport, he said he accepted the US commitment that its missions flown from Britain were not of an “offensive nature” and that the “strategic partnership” with the United States and Nato had to be maintained.

Mr Sarwar also denied any prospective deal with Reform to unseat the SNP.

Former Labour MSP Neil Findlay told the Morning Star Mr Sarwar’s desperation to distance himself from Sir Keir was “yet more evidence of how badly Starmer is going down with voters,” but that “what Anas Sarwar has failed to do is offer a radical alternative vision that captures the hearts and minds of the Scottish people.”