Where were the ideas in Scottish Labour's manifesto?

This was supposed to be Anas Sarwar’s big moment to turn things around. It absolutely had to be.

The Scottish Labour leader made a big entrance, coming down the stairs of Edinburgh University’s South Hall surrounded by cheering activists holding placards.

But that was where the momentum ended.

It is fairly standard to expect a big, new pledge during manifesto launches but Labour’s spin doctors told journalists on Sunday evening that 95% of the party’s pledges had been trickled out over the last year or so.

The 98-page manifesto felt heavy in your hands, but light in ideas.

Priority spending outlined in the manifesto included raising health and social care spending to £25 billion by 2030-31, including a £200 million investment to reduce waiting times in the NHS.

It pledges to spend £630 million increasing classroom teachers by 1,500, £5.3 billion on building new homes and £2 billion upgrading rail travel.

While they are not new, these are big commitments that cut to the issues impacting voters: cost of living, education and healthcare.

The problem was that there was no real plan to fund them. The manifesto addressed the economic performance gap in Scotland, of £800 million, in 2026-27 alone.

Mr Sarwar’s plans to address this included growing the economy, increasing the GDP by between 2.1% and 2.4% in five years, closing that gap by around £600 million.

Read more from Unspun:

• The unwelcome return of Independent Green Voice
• What difference will undecided voters have on the result?
• 'Russell Findlay’s smiley face sums up Tory election struggle'
• May elections are a crunch point for Labour - after that, who knows
• Peter Capaldi: Why I'm getting involved in Scotland election

What we’re being told is this: the SNP is tired and out of ideas. Labour has change, but not necessarily new ideas.

As the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysis suggests, this is not about pledging new ideas. It is about fixing the services we already have.

David Phillips, head of devolved and local government finance at the IFS, said that while the manifesto is hefty, the “tax cuts or expansions in service provision and entitlements that other parties have pledged are absent”.

But Mr Phillips said: “Particularly given the fiscal situation, the lack of big unfunded new commitments in welcome.”

A closer look at the manifesto reveals that some of the commitments have already been pledged – by the SNP-led Scottish Government.

Labour pledges to “maintain the Scottish Child Payment” – a weekly payment of £28.15 per week, with children under one receiving £40 per week from next year.

Mr Sarwar said his programme was different, stressing the SNP’s only answer was “increasing benefits”, while Labour will strengthen schools and create 9,000 new apprenticeships.

What the Scottish Labour leader does do well, is speak directly to voters who are desperate for something different.

“You’ve given the SNP 20 years and Scotland has paid the price,” he said. “Give me five years to fix the mess, save our NHS and deliver the change Scotland needs.”

Is it a bad thing that there were no major plans unveiled? Not necessarily. Mr Sarwar may be putting his hopes on the idea that his honesty will be appreciated.

He hit back at journalists who questioned the contents of the manifesto.

Get Scotland's top politics newsletter straight to your inbox.

“If I listened to you guys for the last five years, I wouldn’t be standing in this election campaign to win because you told us the Labour Party couldn’t survive. We did in 2021.”

“I look forward to proving you all wrong,” he added.

The problem for Mr Sarwar around the five years message is that it is one used by his former best friend, Sir Keir Starmer.

The Prime Minister was urged to resign by the Scottish Labour leader, while candidates are disassociating with Sir Keir on the doorsteps.

While Sir Keir promised change when he entered Downing Street, his popularity has plummeted, and the Prime Minister is increasingly unpopular amongst voters.

“Despite Scottish Labour pitching its proposals as a manifesto for change, on tax and spending the changes proposed are relatively small,” the IFS said.

“Fiscally, that is not necessarily a bad thing in the current environment. Whether Scottish Labour would be able to deliver the changes to public service quality and economic performance that voters desire is less clear.”

Mr Sarwar appeared annoyed when asked by numerous journalists about his relationship with the Prime Minister.

“I’m interested in who the First Minister is,” he told me, reiterating his approach to “fix the mess” created by the SNP government.

The test, now, is whether voters believe that he can.