Exclusive:Anas Sarwar warns Scots not to 'press FU button' by backing Reform - as Labour prepares for SNP battle
Anas Sarwar has urged Scots to refrain from voting for Reform as a protest vote - warning public services could be put at risk.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has called on voters not to “press the FU button” by backing Nigel Farage’s Reform party - warning mass protest votes would “destroy” the NHS.
Mr Sarwar spoke to The Scotsman ahead of his party’s spring conference on Friday, as Scottish Labour hopes to reverse polling showing the party will fall short of ousting the SNP from power in May’s Holyrood election.
A number of polls have suggested Labour could slump behind Reform into third place, with John Swinney’s SNP poised to remain the biggest party and form the next Scottish government.
But Mr Sarwar, while acknowledging why many voters are turning to Reform for apparent easy solutions to complex problems, has warned that backing Mr Farage’s party would "destroy" the NHS and communities across Scotland - as he encouraged Scots not to put public services at risk with a protest vote.
READ MORE: Revealed: How Scottish Labour hopes it can turn tables on SNP and snatch power in Holyrood election
Speaking in Glasgow, Mr Sarwar told The Scotsman that Scottish Labour can still defeat the SNP and form the next Scottish government - stressing his party can defeat Mr Swinney’s party in constituency battles, particularly across the Central Belt in May’s election.
READ MORE: 'I don’t make it up as I go along': Reform's only MSP denies party will 'disrupt' Holyrood
The Glasgow MSP said that either people can “just accept this is as good as it gets” under the SNP, or “we go hell for leather to remove the SNP from power and elect a new government”.
He added: “Ultimately, the only people that can replace the SNP are me and the Scottish Labour party. In constituency after constituency across the country, only Labour can beat the SNP.
“I honestly believe that when people start thinking about the election and they see that choice, that this is an election we can compete in and an election we can win.”
Mr Sarwar has endured a humbling couple of weeks after his demand for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign was shunned by party figures at Westminster and the majority of his own MPs.
“As much as people might want to talk about Keir Starmer or want to talk about Westminster or decisions somewhere else, this is about choosing Scotland’s government”, Mr Sarwar added.
“I honestly believe that when that choice is put in front of people, this will be a really, really close election and an election we can win.”
He appealed for voters to “ignore the noise and focus on what’s happening in your community”.
Mr Sarwar added: “In community after community across the country, the constituencies are a straight fight between Labour and the SNP.”
The Scottish Labour leader insisted that “we have to take seriously” the threat posed by Reform in May’s election, adding that Mr Farage would be “happy for Scotland to be sacrificed for his own personal ambitions”.
But Mr Sarwar said that “Scots will see right through” Reform UK’s team of former Tory politicians.
He added: “But let’s not underestimate what pushes people towards parties like Reform. I don’t think people are pushed towards parties like Reform because they have a belief in someone like Farage or a belief in some of the ideas that they pursue.
“Many people are pushed towards Reform because they feel a huge sense of despair, hopelessness and feel as if things can’t get better. The answer if they think things can’t get better is to smash the system or to press the FU button.
“I don’t think the answer in this election is to press the FU button and destroy our NHS, our schools, our communities - and keep the SNP in power.”
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