On Tuesday Sarwar confirmed that Scottish Labour will abstain on a vote on the Scottish Budget in an interview on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme.
Labour’s abstention would mean the SNP should have the numbers to pass the Budget when it goes to a Holyrood vote before the end of February.
Sarwar added that his party would only vote for the Budget if the Scottish Government “stopped pretending that this Budget lifts the two-child benefit cap”, a Tory policy which the UK Government has chosen to keep.
READ MORE: Anas Sarwar panned as Labour joke falls flat on Good Morning Scotland
Sarwar’s decision for Labour to abstain from the vote has been heavily critised by former MSP Neil Findlay, who said if the party’s former leader Richard Leonard had done the same there would have been “calls for his resignation”.
He also hit out at Labour’s lack of direction under Sarwar’s stewardship as he said the party has “no plans” and “no strategies”.
“Dearie me – if this has been suggested when Richard Leonard was leader there would have been emergency meetings of Labour MSPs, greetin’ meetings lasting hours and calls for his resignation,” Findlay (below) said.
“The harsh truth is Scottish Labour have no plan, no strategy and no policies.”
Several organisations, including Save the Children and the Scottish Retail Consortium, have urged opposition parties to back the Budget .
The Scottish Budget, which was outlined by Finance Secretary Shona Robison in December, notably included funding for Scotland’s NHS, measures to help end child poverty including the abolishment of the two-child cap.
The SNP said they will work with the UK Government, who have the data needed, in order to scrap the benefit cap for Scots from 2025/2026.
A report from the Scottish Fiscal Commission published on Tuesday showed that scrapping the two-child benefit cap in Scotland will cost £155 million in the first year and will help 43,000 children.
SNP MSP Clare Haughey (below) said the “strong words” from Findlay highlight the lack of ambition from Sarwar and that Scottish voters are seeing “right through” Labour’s empty words and “broken promises”.
“These strong words from a former Labour MSP – that Scottish Labour has no plan, no policies, and no ambition – will be another blow to Anas Sarwar’s leadership,” she said.
“Scottish Voters are already seeing right through Labour’s empty words and broken promises. Now it seems that even leading Labour figures are too.
“The contrast with an SNP Government led by John Swinney could not be clearer.
“While the SNP delivers record funding for our NHS, reinstates the winter fuel payment for pensioners, and abolishes the cruel two-child cap, Anas Sarwar will seemingly sit on his hands.”
When presented with Findlay’s and Haughey’s comments, Scottish Labour pointed to Sarwar’s remarks on GMS on Tuesday for reference.