Anas Sarwar has accused the SNP and Tories of inaction over the cost of living crisis as he urged Dundee voters to send both parties a message in next month’s local elections.
The Scottish Labour chief visited the V&A museum while on the campaign trail ahead of the May 5 council vote.
Mr Sarwar says his party has a “fantastic” set of candidates in Dundee and insists any elected councillors will “fight” for change in the city.
Labour has put the cost of living emergency at the heart of their election manifesto, with analysis finding nearly one in four north-east households live in fuel poverty.
On what he believes matters to voters locally, Mr Sarwar said: “I can only go by the mood on the ground.
“The issues people are raising are very similar to other parts of the country around the cost of living crisis.
“They don’t think that either of their governments are doing enough to help them. It’s an opportunity to send a clear message.
‘SNP running out of ideas’
“It feels like the SNP is running out of ideas and is growing more and more arrogant and out of touch in power.
“I’ve also had people talk about wasted money around individual projects, challenges around cleansing, and a general feel that after almost 15 years in government perhaps it’s time for a change.”
Labour are currently the second biggest party in Dundee behind the SNP and will be hoping to improve their seat share in the council ballot.
However, Mr Sarwar has repeatedly ruled out any formal coalitions at a local level, which means they are unlikely to hold power in the city.
He said: “I think we have a real opportunity to change the way we do local democracy.
“What people are electing is a local champion that’s going to fight for your local community and not be pawns of an SNP government or a Tory government that believes the job of a local councillor is to be their mouthpiece in a community.
‘We’re not electing puppets’
“Far from it. We’re not electing puppets. We’re wanting to elect strong local champions that will fight for Dundee.”
A key proposal put forward by Scottish Labour in their local election manifesto includes a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
But critics have pointed out that councillors for his party would be unable to implement this at a local level.
Mr Sarwar defended the manifesto, saying: “We’ve got detailed plans about what the UK Government and Scottish Government can be doing to address the cost of living crisis.
“I think that’s a reasonable approach.
“If they don’t listen to us, I hope they listen to the electorate.
“What they need to listen to is people across our country struggling to put food on the table.”
Labour suffered a disastrous set of local election results in 2017 and lost over 100 council seats across Scotland.
But recent polling indicates the party could make a fightback this year and overtake the Tories again.
Mr Sarwar added: “We are making progress, we are moving forward.
“I don’t think change is going to happen overnight. But I think that mood of change is one we want to build upon.”