ANAS Sarwar has warned Douglas Ross that “just shouting about the constitution” is not good enough – as he suggested Scotland's official opposition needs to bring policy ideas to the election and the next parliament.

Mr Sarwar clashed with the Scottish Tory leader during Tuesday’s televised debate as a war of words over recent days regarding a unionist pact proposal from Mr Ross escalated.

Some polls have suggested that the Scottish Tories could be overtaken by Labour as the second biggest party in Holyrood following May’s election – but Mr Ross has insisted that Mr Sarwar’s party is too focused on rebuilding itself to pose a threat to the Conservatives.

The Labour leader hsaid he is “not naïve about the scale of the challenge” facing his party.

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He added: “I recognise I’ve only been in the job four and a bit weeks and three days before I become leader, we were at 14 per cent in the opinion polls. I'm not complacent about the scale of the challenge.

“I’m not making any bold predictions in this campaign. There is no limit to what I want us to do but I’m not naïve about what we have to try and do in a very short space of time.

“Within in, I've got a realistic expectation that I need to rebuild trust and faith in the Labour party.”

Turning to the Conservatives, Mr Sarwar said Mr Ross “thinks just shouting about the constitution or repeating the fact that independence will be a distraction is enough”, adding “it’s not enough”.

He added: “What else are they going to bring to the table in this election campaign and what else are they going to bring as a focus to our next parliament?

“People are electing not just a government, they are electing a main opposition.

“I want us to have a parliament that forces the government to stay honest, forces the government to stay focused and has an opposition that comes to the table with ideas and drive us towards a national recovery – not take us back to the old arguments and egos and settling scores.”

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Mr Sarwar suggested that Tory activists will be concerned Mr Ross is “running a campaign I’m sure they are very, very worried about at this present moment”.

Mr Ross’s suggestion of an anti-independence pact between the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems has been rejected by his opponents.

The Tory leader said: “If they won’t do that then people need to get behind the strongest pro-UK party, which is the Scottish Conservatives.”

Asked if the dispute with Labour is overshadowing his criticism of the SNP, Mr Ross added: “What we saw in the debate last night was myself and the Scottish Conservatives challenging the SNP for their record in Government.

“Nicola Sturgeon has been health secretary, she has been deputy first minister and she has been First Minister during the SNP’s 14 years of failure.

“I think it’s right we challenge their record and offer an alternative vision for Scotland.”