ANAS Sarwar has launched his first manifesto as Scottish Labour leader, calling it a “route map back to stronger and better times for our country”. 

Mr Sarwar said the proposals amounted to a National Recovery Plan from the ravages of the Covid pandemic. 

He said rebuilding the country and boosting jobs should be the priority, not the usual constitutional arguments, and offered himself as a unifying figure.

He said he was willing to “work with anyone to rebuild the country we love”.

He said the plan would cost £4.5billion, of which £3bn would be reveneue spending and £1.5bn capital.

He said the bulk of the plan could be financed from the £4.2bn of as-yet unpsent Covid support from the UK Treasury, most of which was still unallocated.

He said Holyrood should also be able to borrow more. 

On independence, the manifesto said Labour would not support a second independence referendum for the next five years.

It said “the last thing Scotland needs is more constitutional turmoil and economic instability” and the collective priority should be recovery from Covid-19.

“We do not believe there should be another independence referendum. Labour is democratic socialist party. We do not support independence and we believe that we achieve more together than we do alone. 

“At a time when we must pull our country together to recover from Covid-19, it would be irresponsible for the SNP to distract from that with an independence referendum and to unleash vast public spending cuts in an independent Scotland.

“The United Kingdom needs to work for all parts of our country and, at present, it does not. 

We believe a democratically and economically renewed Scotland is stronger within a democratically and economically renewed United Kingdom. 

“While the country is focused on recovery from Covid-19 over the next five years, we will not support a second independence referendum.”

On tax, Mr Sarwar said there should be an "Amazon tax" levied on the online retailers who had prospered in the pandemic, with a £75 spending voucher for every adult for physical shops to help regenerate the high street.

However details of the Amazon tax were scant.

A costings document said the party "would set up a taskforce to fully examine how to ensure the digital economy makes a fair tax contribution".

Like the SNP, Tories and Liberal Democrats, Labour said it didn't want to raise income tax in the next five years.

However it would be willing to increase rates on high-earners if circumstances demanded.

The Herald:

The manifesto said: "Scottish Labour will seek to avoid increasing income tax.

"If there is a need to increase income tax revenues during the next parliamentary term, Scottish Labour would support changes that generate income from those earning over £100,000 a year.

"In the long-term, Scottish Labour’s plan for jobs, skills and the economy would grow our income tax receipts."

The party said it wanted to abolish council tax and replace it with a “fairer alternative based on property values and ability to pay”.

The party also said it would explore "a series of new and fairer forms of taxation on areas that we recognise are common goods but are currently used by the private sector e.g. land value capture and taxing based on the polluter pays principle".

The launch coincided with new polls showing Mr Sarwar enjoying a surge in personal approval ratings, but his party still set to come third behind the Tories on May 6.

The manifesto covered five main areas:

Jobs recovery - guaranteeing a job for every young Scot and investing in training and upskilling people 

NHS recovery - funding the NHS to get cancer treatment back on track, improve mental health, and give carers "the pay they deserve".

Education recovery - developing a comeback plan which invests in schools, and ensures IT support in every primary and secondary school.

Climate recovery - Investing in green jobs and seizing Scotland’s hosting of COP26 to champion an ambitious climate justice plan.

Community recovery - helping high streets recover and investing in local areas to make communities safer and stronger.

The 38-year-old Glasgow MSP, who replaced the hapless Richard Leonard as Scottish Labour leader in February, delivered a speech on the manifesto in Greenock.

He said: “This is not a normal election. It is a pandemic election. More than 10,000 families in Scotland are coming to terms with the loss of a loved one.

“Many more are worried about their cancer diagnosis, their children’s mental health, or whether they have a job to go back to.

“The challenges ahead of us are huge and they require us to work together.

“And the truth is that the politics of division has only delivered more poverty and greater inequality.

“We can’t afford our politics to go on like this for the next five years. I’m calling time on the old politics.

“Scotland deserves better.

“Just imagine what we could achieve if we come together and focus on what unites us, not what divides us.

“We have a politics that speaks to 100% of people in Scotland, not just the 50% the SNP and the Tories want to speak to.

“So let’s not spend the next five years on re-running old arguments, or the timing of a vote, or battles in the courts.

“Let’s spend the next five years on a national recovery.

“That’s what I am offering you at this election.

"By voting Scottish Labour you can make the difference.

"We are the only party standing in this election that believes we can deliver a fair recovery right now.

“If - like me - you believe that this is the time to focus on what unites us as a country, then both votes for Scottish Labour will make that happen.”

The SNP said Mr Sarwar was “completely out of touch” with Labour supporters and with Scotland, would rather leave key decisions in the hands of the Tories at Westminster.

It followed an Ipsos Mori poll this week finding two-thirds of 2019 UK Labour voters would support a referendum if a pro-independence majority of MSPs is returned at the election.

SNP Depute Leader Keith Brown said: “These are serious times which require the experienced leadership of Nicola Sturgeon to guide Scotland through the pandemic and into recovery.

"Despite their rhetoric, the hard fact is Labour is happy to sit back and leave Scotland's future in the hands of Boris Johnson.

"No party that supports the Tories' job-destroying hard Brexit or is content for the Tories to undermine the welfare state so many depend on, has a right to say they are focussing on recovery.

"By denying people in Scotland the right to decide their future, Labour has no answer to the Tory power grab on the Scottish Parliament or to the danger Boris Johnson's post-Brexit trade deals pose to our NHS.  

“Anas Sarwar calls Boris Johnson 'a disaster' but continues to enable him to make decisions about Scotland against the democratic wishes of the people who live here.

"Labour can't win this election - they've said they can't. They’re not even being honest with the voters - votes for Labour allow Boris Johnson to tighten his control over Scotland.”