Scottish Labour needs sharp dividing lines with the SNP if they are to put up an election fight

Daily Record Political Editor Paul Hutcheon says Labour are miles behind the SNP in the polls and need to ditch their innate caution and small c conservatism.

04:30, 22 Mar 2026

Anas Sarwar is facing a big week as his party tries to claw its way back into the Holyrood election.

Scottish Labour will launch their campaign on Thursday, a day after Holyrood breaks up.

Much of the focus of the past year has been on the damage inflicted by the UK Government on Labour’s chances in May.

Sarwar’s recent call for Keir Starmer to quit has also dominated the news and crowded out any attempt at Labour putting forward a bold alternative to the SNP.

One view senior Labour and SNP figures share is surprise at how little policy has been rolled out by Sarwar with just five weeks to go.

More specifically, Labour insiders are puzzled at the lack of sharp dividing lines between their party and John Swinney.

A dividing line is more than simply a policy difference, but a position a rival simply cannot back for ideological and other reasons.

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Sarwar’s main theme so far has been to attack the SNP’s running of the NHS and to claim Labour would be better stewards of the health service.

But both parties want to make the NHS better, reduce waiting times and phase out the “8am lottery” for GP services.

There is no difference on principle and the NHS is unlikely to be the winning hand Labour believes it will be.

Housing fits into this category as well.

The SNP and Labour want to build more homes and the public will be bored by two parties engaging in an auction on numbers.

Labour has a tougher policy than the SNP on a mobile phone ban in schools, but again the positions only vary by degree.

What Scottish Labour lacks so far is a handful of policies, backed by the public, that would be near impossible for the SNP to support.

Ahead of the 1997 general election, Tony Blair put himself on the right side of voters by supporting a minimum wage.

The Tories, ever mindful of business opinion, had to oppose the move and were punished at the ballot box.

Boris Johnson profited handsomely from his promise to “get Brexit done” in 2019 while Labour was hopelessly divided.

And in independence – the ultimate dividing line in Scottish politics – the SNP finds themselves starting every election with 30% of the vote in the bag.

One obvious dividing line for Labour would be to partially reverse the income tax rises pushed through by successive SNP Governments.

With the cost of living crisis mounting, such a move would put Swinney in an awkward position.

Backing new nuclear power stations would also be a wedge issue in two SNP constituencies eyed up by Labour.

Other dividing lines may emerge by Scottish and UK Labour promising to work together in ways the SNP would recoil from.

With time running out, and Scottish Labour trailing the SNP in the polls, Sarwar has nothing to lose from ditching his party’s innate caution and small c conservatism.

Swinney is coasting and the very least Scots need is a competitive election.