Anas Sarwar’s independence problem

Will Anas Sarwar lead Scottish Labour back into second place at Holyrood? On the strength of the campaign he has fought, he deserves to, for he has run the most positive, energetic and ideas-based offering in a dreary and rancorous election. Sarwar has been almost alone in trying to make the May 6 poll about something other than arid constitutionalism. 

His proposals are all sound, social democratic measures: a jobs guarantee for young Scots; investing in cancer and mental health treatment; and extra funding for schools to recover from the educational setbacks of Covid-19. Against an increasingly stale-sounding Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Tories’ angry-robot leader Douglas Ross, Sarwar has been a breath of fresh air. Even some overly enthusiastic shaking of his backside during an open-air dance class has not managed to dissuade me from my view that he has run the best campaign.

There is a ‘but’ coming, but not that sort of butt.