It was in the second half of his speech unveiling Scottish Labour's manifesto that Anas Sarwar made clear his longer term ambition in this General Election.

Yes of course Labour's immediate aim is removing the Conservatives from power on July 4 and getting Sir Keir Starmer elected as Prime Minister.

But for Mr Sarwar his big goal is becoming Scotland's First Minister in May 2026.

"We know change for Scotland is a two stage process," he told supporters and journalists at Murrayfield this morning.

"It begins in just 17 days when we can finally get rid of this lying, corrupt, incompetent Tory government. But that is just the start. There is so much more that we want to do with the powers of devolution as well. In 2026, we need a change of direction at Holyrood as much as we need one at Westminster today."

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Mr Sarwar then turned his attack on the SNP's record in government arguing it has "failed the people of Scotland – breaking our NHS, ruining our once world-leading education system, and tarnishing our politics by wasting and misusing your money."

He added: "A complete failure to deliver economic growth which has left public services in crisis. Scotland has the opportunity to fix the SNP’s mess by electing a Scottish Labour government. We are starting that work now."

(Image: PA) First Minister John Swinney and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes pictured on the steps of Bute House in May this year.  Photo PA.

The Scottish Labour leader then went on to outline the steps he would take to govern the country "using the powers we already have".

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He said a Holyrood Labour government would make Scotland "the best place to start and grow a business, with fairer business rates that levels the playing field between the high street and online giants".

Mr Sarwar also said Labour ministers would transform "our planning system so that it is no longer a barrier to development" and that it would rebuild "community policing" so that people have confidence that when a crime is reported it will be investigated.

And he went to to add that it would reform the Scottish Parliament, banning second jobs and introducing the right to recall MSPs who have done wrong (as the Westminster system has).

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He also promised a Labour government in Holyrood would reduce the education attainment gap in schools, support teachers, restore colleges to their full potential an protect the NHS in Scotland "for the generations to come".

And pitching himself as First Minister in waiting, he added: "I know that Scotland has extraordinary potential just waiting to be unlocked.

"Labour will unlock that true potential."

Most recent polls have given Labour a lead over the SNP in terms of the general election with the most recent carried out by Norstat and published on Sunday giving them a four-point lead with 34% of those polled saying they would vote Labour, while 30% would vote SNP.

An analysis by polling expert Professor John Curtice predicted this would see Labour return 28 MPs in Scotland, up from the current two, while the SNP would win 18.

However, polling for Holyrood has suggested a rather different picture of where Scottish voters are.

The same Norstat poll, which interviewed 1,050 people in Scotland aged 16 and older between June 11 and 14, showed the SNP at 34%, two points ahead of Labour in constituencies, while on the more proportional regional list vote, the SNP were on 28%, one point ahead of Labour.

Under Curtice’s analysis, this would make the SNP the largest party with 40 MSPs, while Labour would have 37 MSPs.

With such arithmetic, Mr Sarwar could only become FM with the support of 21 Tories and ten Lib Dems (which the Nortstat polling suggest these parties would win).

But is the Scottish Labour leader really open to a deal with the Conservatives in order to win the keys of Bute House?

Such a prospect will be a difficult one for Mr Sarwar in the run up to the vote in May 2026 and the SNP, and Greens too, will inevitably use it as a bid to severely undermine the Labour campaign.

To avoid such an attack Scottish Labour will need to strengthen its position in the opinion polls.

And that could come down to how Labour, if it does win on July 4, as polls suggest it will, governs at Westminster, how the SNP governs for the rest of its term in Holyrood and the strength of the Scottish Labour pitch to voters north of the Border.