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22 November 2024

Scottish Labour’s winter fuel move shows its panic

Anas Sarwar is already being forced to distance himself from Keir Starmer’s unpopular government.

By Chris Deerin

It’s no exaggeration to say that there’s an air of panic around Scottish Labour at the moment. The party didn’t expect to find itself falling behind the SNP with just 18 months to go until the next Holyrood election.

That really shouldn’t be happening when the governing party has been in office for 17 years – a duration that will have stretched to almost two decades by the time Scots go to the polls in May 2026. Regardless of that government’s performance – which has hardly been impressive – there should by now be an air of fatigue in the country and a desire for change.

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