Anas Sarwar said of the three candidates to be SNP leader and First Minister “I’ll take any of them”.

The Scottish Labour leader was asked if he feared Kate Forbes as she suggested during the campaign.

Sarwar, on a meeting in Cambuslang, with UK Labour leader, Keir Starmer, and shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, also said none of the candidates were up to the standard of Nicola Sturgeon.

Glasgow Times:

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Sarwar, said: “I think it’s safe to say we don’t fear any of the candidates. I’ll take any of them.”

He then went on to praise the outgoing First Minister, stating the others were not of the same calibre.

He added: “The other important point to make is I have profound disagreements with Nicola Sturgeon.

"I don’t agree with her politics, I don’t share her politics I’ve been battling on the front line of politics with her for more than a decade.

“But I think even the most ardent SNP supporter would accept that none of these candidates are of the calibre of Nicola Sturgeon.

“If Nicola  Sturgeon can’t fix our NHS, how is Humza Yousaf going to fix our NHS?

“If Nicola Sturgeon can’t fix our economy,  how is Kate Forbes going to fix our economy?

“If Nicola Sturgeon can’t pull our country together, how is Ash Regan going to pull our country together?”

READ MORE:Poll puts Kate Forbes ahead of Humza Yousaf among public in SNP race

He acknowledged that Labour has an opportunity with Sturgeon leaving the top job and went on to say that Labour has to step up and prove itself to the country.

Sarwar, said: “There is an alternative though and We can’t just wait for the wheels to fall off the SNP bus, we’ve got to, with humility, reach out, win people’s trust, our people’s trust and demonstrate we have a credible plan for the economy as set out by both Keir and Rachel in the last couple of days.

“Also, a credible plan to sort out and restore our NHS that’s the two big issues people in Scotland care about right now.”