The Scottish Labour leader has said he believes momentum is with his party – but he is “not getting complacent”.
Anas Sarwar said “we’ve still got a hell of a lot of work to do” to defeat the SNP in Scotland.
He was responding to a new poll which suggested Labour is on course to win in Scotland at the next general election for the first time since 2010.
The SNP has insisted its support remains strong despite “a tough few weeks for the party”.
Mr Sarwar was speaking during his first interview on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme.
The Panelbase poll for the Sunday Times suggests that Scottish Labour would win 26 seats at Westminster, up from the single seat it currently holds. This would put the party ahead of the SNP, which is predicted to take 21 seats, down from 45.
The Conservatives are projected to take seven and the Liberal Democrats five, adding one extra seat each.
Mr Sarwar said it was “positive news” but he was keeping his feet “firmly on the ground”.
He said: “Two years ago when I became the leader, we were 32 points behind the SNP.
“If you’d told me then that we’d now be neck and neck in the opinion polls, I wouldn’t have believed you.
“But I think something different is happening in Scotland. I think the momentum is with the Scottish Labour party. I think there is a mood for change.”
On last week’s Laura Kuenssberg programme, SNP leader Humza Yousaf said his party could make life “very difficult” for Labour in a hung parliament if it refused to give Scotland the power to call a referendum.
Hollywod actor and Scottish independence supporter Alan Cumming also accused Labour of being “Conservative-lite” and said the SNP was now the only left-wing party in UK politics.
But Mr Sarwar said Labour’s transformation under three years of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership showed the party was “ready to serve and ready to deliver a transformative government”.
He said: “Of course ardent SNP supporters are going to want to tarnish the Labour party because they know that the Tories winning again is perhaps the only way they can resuscitate their own party here in Scotland.
“Humza Yousaf has already said it doesn’t matter if the Tories win again across the UK – actually it really matters and that’s why Labour is determined to get rid of this rotten Tory government.”
North Sea jobs
The SNP deputy leader Keith Brown insisted his party “remain the political powerhouse to deliver change”.
He said: “Only the full powers of independence can protect Scotland from the damage of Brexit and the mismanagement of Tory governments Scotland doesn’t vote for.”
Mr Sarwar was speaking a day ahead of Sir Keir Starmer visiting Scotland to launch Labour’s new green energy strategy.
Labour has announced it will block all new domestic oil and gas developments if it wins power.
The UK government and some unions have criticised the plans, saying they risk an economic “cliff edge”.
But Mr Sarwar denied Labour’s plans to move away from North Sea oil and gas would result in massive job losses.
He said a Labour government was committed to working with oil and gas companies to make the transition to net zero.
“There will be no cliff edge – there will be no turning off of the tap,” he said.
“We are clear that oil and gas will play a significant role in our energy industry for decades to come.
“What we’re talking about is building the strategic partnerships in order to deliver the green revolution.
“I want to be really up front about this – we need the oil and gas industry.”
The Panelbase poll sampled 1,007 people aged 16 and over, between 12 and 15 June.
Source : BBC
