Anas Sarwar puts NHS at heart of Scottish Labour's 2026 election pitch

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." 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