ANAS Sarwar is due to make a speech at the UK Labour conference on Monday afternoon amid an ongoing freebies row he has now been caught up in.
The Scottish Labour leader is facing criticism after it emerged he was treated to a trip to a Liverpool match on Saturday with Scottish Secretary Ian Murray.
The pair were guests of Salmon Scotland at Anfield as Liverpool beat Bournemouth 3-0.
The SNP's Dave Doogan has branded Sarwar "a desperate leader of a desperate party," with Sarwar set to declare that "time is up for the SNP" when he stands up to speak at conference.
When will Sarwar be speaking?
The Scottish Labour leader is set to make a speech at 2.50pm, according to the party's Twitter/X.
14.50 today! @AnasSarwar addresses Labour Party Annual Conference ✅ #Lab24 pic.twitter.com/wyTrxq5F6V
— Scottish Labour (@ScottishLabour) September 23, 2024
He is due to tell his party’s conference that Scotland is being “held back” by the SNP Scottish Government.
It comes after Labour Together's post-election analysis found that 46% of those who went from the SNP to Labour in July are pro-independence.
How can I watch Sarwar's speech?
The Labour Party’s YouTube channel is livestreaming the conference, which offers one way to watch the speech when it comes.
There is also the possibility that major broadcasters, including the BBC and Sky News, will show the speech.
What has been said ahead of the speech?
Labour’s first party conference as a new government has been so far overshadowed by a row around donations as Keir Starmer, Rachel Reeves and Angela Rayner gave in to pressure to stop accepting clothes as free gifts.
Sarwar and Murray have now found themselves at the centre of that row after their treat at Anfield.
A More In Common poll has also shown three in five people already expect Labour to lose the next General Election, potentially placing real pressure on Sarwar ahead of the Holyrood vote in 2026.
Sarwar has also faced huge criticism for his support of cuts to the Winter Fuel Payment, which will see the benefit taken away from all but the poorest pensioners this year.
