EXCLUSIVE: A database shows Labour out-spending the SNP while also downplaying their own party brand.
04:30, 06 Feb 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar(Image: PA)
Scottish Labour are outspending the SNP in the Holyrood election after shelling out nearly £80,000 promoting Anas Sarwar on social media. The Nationalists spent less than 0.5% of this amount on their leader John Swinney’s Meta pages during the same three month period.
Despite trailing in the polls, Labour are expected to have their best resourced Holyrood election campaign in the history of devolution. Sarwar will have a £1m warchest after donations poured in, including a six figure pledge from bus tycoons Sandy and James Easdale.
With the Labour Government’s troubles hitting the Scottish party, Sarwar is framing the election as a presidential-style contest between him and Swinney. Between November and February, official records show Labour spent £78,876 on Sarwar’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
The SNP figure for Swinney’s pages on the same social media platforms came to £71. Some of Labour’s communications either ignore the party name, or relegate it to below Sarwar.
A backdrop at a Sarwar press conference featured a Saltire with the words “Scotland’s choice” with no mention of the party. Another party advert ends with “Anas Sarwar for First Minister” with “Scottish Labour” in smaller text.
Polls suggest the social media blitz focusing on Sarwar has yet to have an impact. A recent YouGov poll had Scottish Labour in third place for the Holyrood election on 15%.
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The snapshot found Labour five points behind Reform UK and 19 points behind John Swinney’s SNP. A seat projection by Sir John Curtice suggested these numbers would give the SNP 60 seats – five short of a majority – Reform 23 and Labour 15.
Such a result would be Scottish Labour’s worst result in the history of devolution.
One SNP insider said the party is on course for a fifth term but expressed concerns about being outspent by Labour during the campaign in April.
The insider said the SNP’s huge membership gave them a huge social media reach that did not require paid adverts.
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Scottish Labour is running the most ambitious campaign in our party’s history.
“John Swinney and the SNP have failed Scotland and pushed our NHS, schools, prisons and local services to crisis point.
“This election is a direct race between John Swinney and Anas Sarwar to be the next First Minister of Scotland and we are confident our ambitious campaign will deliver the change in government this country so desperately needs.
“In May we can put an end to SNP mismanagement and choose a new direction with a Scottish Labour government led by Anas Sarwar.”
SNP MSP Stuart McMillan said: “It’s incredible that Anas Sarwar and the Labour Party have spent so much money and yet the only image people will remember from this week is him cosying up to his “old pal” Peter Mandelson.
“The Labour Party can spend as much as they want on ads, but they can’t buy votes – and Anas Sarwar’s only leading his party in one direction.
“As the Labour Party tears itself apart over the Peter Mandelson scandal, the contrast with the strong leadership of First Minister John Swinney couldn’t be clearer.”
Scottish Green co-leader Ross Greer said: “This must count as the worst investment Labour’s billionaire donors have ever made. The more people see of Anas Sarwar, the less likely they are to vote for him.
“Labour are desperately trying to polish the image of a regional branch manager who has failed time and again to stand up to Keir Starmer. On the cruel two-child benefit cap, WAPSI women and job losses at Grangemouth, Anas Sarwar has backtracked on his promises and put his party before the people of Scotland in a shallow attempt to keep his Westminster bosses happy.
“It’s no surprise that Labour can afford to splash this kind of cash on their leader’s image. They’ve just accepted a huge donation from the very same billionaires who have worked for years to stop us from bringing Scotland’s bus network back under public ownership.”
