Sarwar puts NHS at heart of Scottish Labour’s election pitch. 20 hours ago. Angus CochraneSenior political journalist, BBC Scotland. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has put improving the NHS at the centre of his pitch to voters ahead of next month’s Holyrood election.. Sarwar said his party would end the 08:00 rush for GP appointments, cut waiting times and reduce bureaucracy in the health system.. Labour has also pledged childcare tax breaks for parents, to fix potholes and to lift a Scottish government block on new nuclear power.. Sarwar said the choice at this election was between “more of the same with the SNP or change with Scottish Labour”.. Speaking at an event in Edinburgh, he said after nearly two decades in power, the SNP had “lost their way”.. He continued: “They’ve had 20 years, I’m asking you to give me five.”. Scottish Labour launches Holyrood election manifesto. Scottish Labour’s 2026 election manifesto at-a-glance. Labour’s Scottish manifesto pledges analysed. A former dentist, Sarwar said fixing the NHS was “personal” for him.. His party’s manifesto includes plans to negotiate a new contract with GPs to free up appointments, to use spare capacity in the NHS to reduce waiting times and to cut administration by reducing the number of health board areas from 14 to three.. The number of long waits of over a year for a planned hospital appointment or procedure in Scotland has been falling since July.. But a target to eradicate long waits by the end of March was missed by the Scottish government, with more than 44,000 such cases recorded.. “Patients and staff can’t risk a third decade of the SNP in government,” Sarwar said.. Labour pledged to set up a new emergency mental health response service and to put mental health support workers in GP practices.. Sarwar said his party would introduce an NHS app, AI scanners in hospitals and new screening programmes.. A simple guide to the Scottish election. Who are the candidates in my area?. Tell us about the issues affecting you. How to follow BBC Scotland’s election coverage. The Scottish Labour leader presented himself as the main rival to Swinney to become Scotland’s next first minister – despite his party lagging behind the SNP in the polls.. But a defiant Sarwar told reporters that he was looking forward “to proving you all wrong” on 7 May.. Launching his party’s election pitch, he said: “This manifesto is about more than rescuing our NHS after years of failure.. “It is about making Scotland work again, making life more affordable for families, giving all our young people the chance to succeed, building the homes people need, backing Scottish jobs and Scottish businesses and making sure that government respects your money and focuses on the things that matter.”. Sarwar said that if energy prices continue to rise due to the war in Iran his government would deliver a £100m emergency support package.. He told the event this would include loans for energy-intensive industries, bulk buying
