Anas Sarwar will today make a direct appeal to independence supporters who left Labour to return to the fold and make 2024 a year of “momentous change” by ousting the Tories.

The Scottish Labour leader will also reach out to Unionists by saying the general election is their chance to “turn the page on the SNP too”.

He said he wanted Scots to back his party “regardless of how they voted before”.

Meanwhile Humza Yousaf will say independence offers Scots “optimism” and the opportunity to raise living standards held back by "UK economic decline".

Rishi Sunak last week fired the starting gun on the election, saying his working assumption was it would be in the second half of the year, with November now seen as the likely date.  

With all the parties ramping up campaigning, Mr Sarwar is due to address activists in Rutherglen & Hamilton West, where Labour scored an emphatic by-election win in October.

The First Minister is due to make the first in a series of speeches on the economy later at Glasgow University. 

Mindful of the tens of thousands of Labour supporters who switched to the SNP in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum, Mr Sarwar is expected to say: “I believe 2024 is going to be a momentous year in the history of British and Scottish politics. 

"It can be the year of change, our opportunity for change after 13 years of failure under the Tories. 

"But after 16 years of decline and incompetence, it is a chance to turn the page on the SNP too.  I know people across our country are hungry for change.  

“So I say directly to people - I don't care how you voted in the past. 

"Scottish Labour under my leadership refuses to turn our back on anybody in Scotland.

"So let me say to those that may have supported independence in the past, and may even consider it in the future.”

“I don't support independence, and I don’t support a referendum, but I accept that we need change right now. 

"We may ultimately disagree on the final destination for Scotland, but on this part of the journey, let's unite to change our country and get rid of this Tory government. 

"Give us the opportunity to show you that we can make the UK work for every corner of our country, including here in Scotland. 

"The chance to show you that change is possible, and that this isn't as good as it gets. 

"Because I believe with a Labour government, we can do better than the managed decline of the Tories and the SNP."

Scottish Labour currently has two MPs north of the border, but polls suggest the party could overtake the SNP, which has set itself the target of at least 29 seats to win the election.

SNP MP David Linden said: “This ridiculous pitch tells independence supporters that Labour feels entitled to their vote without any reflection on the broken constitutional position that a majority of Scots want to see rectified.

“The reality is that Labour offers absolutely nothing for Scotland at this election.

“Independence is the only way to protect Scotland from Westminster damage for good.”

Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said: “Anas Sarwar has come alarmingly late to the obvious truth that the SNP’s time in government has been incredibly damaging.

“That is because, on policies ranging from gender recognition reform to their disastrous financial policies, Labour has slavishly voted with Humza Yousaf’s government.”

Mr Yousaf will suggest independence could make the typical Scottish household is £10,200 a year better off.

Recent work by the Resolution Foundation said the “catch-up potential” of the UK meant households could be £8,300 better off if the country matched the economic vigour of Australia, Canada, France, Germany or the Netherlands.

Applying the same analysis to Scotland alone, Mr Yousaf said the difference was £10,200 per household, adding: “That is the prize of independence.”

In a message to some in his party to soften their language, he is also expected to say that die-hard No voters should be respected, not scorned 

He will say: “There will be those who will never support independence. That doesn’t mean those people should be dismissed. Far from it. There is much to learn from an opposing perspective. And we can all still engage, even if to disagree, respectfully.

“There will be others who are sympathetic to independence but who are not yet persuaded or who don’t think this is the right time. It is my argument that independence is urgent.

“It is urgent precisely because the cost of living is top of people’s concerns.

“Because it is through independence, and in particular the powerful combination of independence and EU membership, that we can raise living standards.”

He said Yes supporters should not simply shout “independence ever louder”, but help set out an “alternative path: one that leads to a renewed sense of possibility.

“This is where the case for optimism comes in. Scotland has extraordinary resources such as renewable energy and key economic strengths such as our great universities.”

“Countries like Ireland, Norway and Denmark have both higher productivity and lower inequality than the UK. They combine economic dynamism with social solidarity. 

“So, with all our strengths, the key question is this: why not Scotland?”

The Scottish Tories said the SNP was in no position to lecture others on the economy given the £1.5billion shortfall hanging over the 2024/25 budget.