Anas Sarwar asks voters in Scotland to give Labour five years to ‘fix SNP’s mess’

Sarwar made no reference to Keir Starmer, or UK policies, as he laid out a series of Scottish Labour’s election pledges on Monday. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian

Anas Sarwar has appealed to voters to give Labour five years “to fix the Scottish National party’s mess” as he pledged more homes, tax cuts and a smaller public sector.

The Scottish Labour leader is fighting a last-ditch attempt to reverse a steep slump in support. Recent polls put Sarwar’s party third or even fourth behind the SNP, Reform and the Scottish Greens, dragged down by the UK government’s unpopularity.