Sarwar Starts Holyrood Campaign With Pledge Not To Raise Income Tax

Anas Sarwar has effectively fired the starting gun on the 2026 Holyrood election campaign as he pledged not to raise income tax if he became Scotland's first minister.

- Libby Brooks

Sarwar told an audience of candidates and activists at the launch of Scottish Labour's Westminster manifesto in Edinburgh, "we know change for Scotland is a two stage process" and that voters wanted to "turn the page... on 14 years of chaos under the Tories, and 17 years of failure under the SNP".

Asked if he could specifically rule out any increase in any Scottish income tax band or rate - which are devolved to Holyrood - under a Labour government at Holyrood, Sarwar said: "Yes. Next question."

Labour and the Scottish Conservatives have attacked the SNP government at Holyrood over the fact that people being paid more than £29,000 pay more in tax in Scotland.