by Niall Christie

Scotland editor

POLITICAL leaders in Scotland have made their final pitches to voters ahead of tomorrow’s Holyrood election, promising recovery from the coronavirus crisis and action on the climate emergency. 

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and the Scottish Greens’ co-leaders have said each of their parties offer different visions from the SNP. 

Mr Sarwar, whose party is looking to overtake the Conservatives in second place, believes that he represents the future of Scotland as he sets his sights on making Scottish Labour a “credible opposition.”

The party leader, who will also take on Nicola Sturgeon in Glasgow Southside, said that he believes their “national recovery plan” has struck a chord with voters who want the next parliament to “rebuild the country we all love.”

Mr Sarwar emphasised voters must vote for a national recovery, warning “jobs are on the ballot, our children’s education is on the ballot, our NHS is on the ballot.”

He said: “The people of Scotland face a stark choice at this election – either we go back to the old arguments about a referendum with the SNP and the Tories, or we forge ahead with our national recovery with Labour.

“We know the SNP cannot be trusted with our recovery and are obsessed with the old politics of division and grievance, and we know the Tories don’t have what it takes to stand up to the SNP.”

Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater underlined the stakes at this election, claiming that their positive campaign has focused on a green recovery from the pandemic and urgent action on the climate emergency.

Mr Harvie said: “We have a positive vision for Scotland. This is the time to take matters into our own hands, to build a Scotland that can lead Europe in tackling the climate emergency. But there is no time to lose.

“We’ve shown in our campaign that green voters made a real difference to the last five years, and can have a huge impact in the next five years as we face up to the bold decisions needed to tackle the climate emergency.”

Ms Slater added: “Only the Scottish Greens have produced detailed plans to invest in a new deal for renewable energy, a new deal for workers and a new deal for nature. We can build a new Scotland together, but only if we vote for it.”