21 February 2025, 08:40 | Updated: 21 February 2025, 16:02

By Gina Davidson

Labour party delegates gathering today in Glasgow should be in fine fettle. But they arrive knowing that their party is in a dogfight until next May when voters go to the polls to elect the next Scottish government.

Last year’s conference saw them on a high and champing at the bit for a general election. They got one of course and saw their UK party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, land in No10.

At that moment, anything seemed possible. Scottish Labour had returned 37 MPs to Westminster, a huge leap from the one MP they had before until that Rutherglen by-election saw the party double its numbers. They had seen the SNP humbled, reduced to just nine MPs, and no longer the third largest party in the Commons. The belief in Labour ranks that this was the launch pad for Anas Sarwar to become the next First Minister of Scotland was palpable.

Seven months on and while there will be much applause in the SECC for the conquering MPs, underneath the hail fellow well met bonhomie, there is concern.

Opinion polls of late have seen the party slide - the latest one showing that there could be just 18 red-rosetted MSPs returned to Holyrood at the next election in 2026, which would be the party’s worst performance of the devolution era. The polls have also shown a surge in support for Reform UK and the Scottish Greens are also climbing, and........

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