Sir Keir Starmer’s pivot to progressive patriotism and attacks on Nigel Farage come too late to save Scottish Labour ahead of the Holyrood elections, but don’t write off Anas Sarwar yet, writes Herald columnist Mark McGeoghegan.

On Monday, Sir Keir Starmer delivered his best speech to date to the Labour Party Conference, a conference that had at one point threatened to spark a leadership challenge and plunge the party deeper into chaos. It was a political rallying cry that his membership lapped up. He reached oratorical heights he had rarely touched before, and launched the attack on Nigel Farage and Reform UK that much of progressive Britain had been longing for. In doing so, he gave his vision for Britain definition where it had been blurry and difficult to understand.

The big question, of course, is how much it will matter. His call for a compassionate approach to immigration clashed with his Home Secretary’s announcement that migrants seeking indefinite leave to remain will be required to perform unpaid labour – a policy already unravelling under scrutiny. The economic fundamentals remain poor, and few economists expect them to improve anytime soon. A difficult budget looms in November, one most analysts expect to contain tax rises. Even if the Prime Minister receives a short-term poll boost and his reorientation bears fruit in the long run, it is too little, too late for Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour.

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