Gordon Brown has attacked the SNP's record on reducing child poverty in Scotland and claimed the Nationalists were more interested in "changing borders than changing society".
The former prime minister visited the Gorbals in Glasgow today to drum up support for Scottish Labour ahead of tomorrow's crunch Holyrood election, with polls showing Nicola Sturgeon is on course for another triumph.
But Brown slammed the SNP's 14 years in power at the Scottish Parliament and insisted the party had failed to address any of the long-standing problems facing the country's health and social care sectors.
In a passionate speech delivered at the first "drive-in rally" of the Holyrood campaign, the former PM praised Anas Sarwar for his "enthusiasm and effectiveness".
Around two dozen cars were parked around Labour's campaign battle bus to allow Brown and Sarwar to address supporters directly in the Glasgow Southside constituency being defended by Sturgeon.
The Scottish Labour leader only took charge nine weeks ago but faces a tough task if his party is to overhaul the Tories in terms of MSPs won at Thursday's election.
Brown insisted it was Labour that would "rescue the health service" in Scotland and protect public services as the country recovers from the pandemic.
“If the SNP could not solve the health problem, the waiting list problem, the mental health problem, the social care problem in any one of the 14 years in government, they will never solve the problem now," he said.
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“That’s why they should give way to the Labour Party, who can do it.”
He added: "We need Labour MSPs who believe in the policy of full employment. We need Labour MSPs who will link up with Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle, Sheffield, Bristol - mayors of all these places - and the First Minister of Wales.
"Because in an integrated economy like ours, you cannot win full employment in one country unless you work for full employment in all countries."
Scottish politics
Brown continued: "And you know the worst problem of all? Poverty among children. It's rising drastically - 300,000 children in poverty in Scotland and the figure going up in the pandemic.
"Poverty is not just a scandal - for children, it is a crime. And I say you can't solve the problem of child poverty without using all the resources of the United Kingdom.
"And that's why instead of independence and getting out of the United Kingdom, we need to force the case for resources from all over the United Kingdom to fight child poverty in our midst.
"That's the difference: We want to end child poverty, the SNP want to end the United Kingdom.
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"They wake up in the morning thinking about a referendum, we wake up in the morning wanting a recovery.
"They go to bed dreaming of separation, we go to bed dreaming of social justice.
"They spend all their waking hours trying to change our borders, we spend all our waking hours trying to change society."
Brown started his speech in the Gorbals with a tribute to Labour's new leader north of the Border.
"Public services are being neglected and betrayed by the SNP and that's why we need Labour members of the Scottish Parliament in Glasgow," he said.
"I'm here in support Anas Sarwar, the new voice of Labour in Scotland. I'm proud to be able to congratulate him on the energy, enthusiasm and effectiveness of the campaign he has mounted - his first campaign as leader and the most succesful campaign of this election."
Shirley-Anne Somerville, SNP candidate for Dunfermline, said: “The only thing people in Scotland want to hear from Gordon Brown is an apology for his campaigning so vocally in 2014 to keep key powers over poverty in the hands of the Tories at Westminster.
“As a result, we’ve had years of Tory austerity and welfare cuts inflicted on us, we’ve been dragged out of the EU against our will, and now we have Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
“Child poverty in Scotland - while still too high - is significantly lower than in other parts of the UK. We’ve created a raft of new Best Start Grants to provide one-off payments to eligible families in the early stages in a child’s life, and we introduced the Scottish Child Payment - described as a ‘game-changer’ in the fight against child poverty - which we will double if re-elected.
“But as long as people like Gordon Brown are campaigning to leave the key levers in the hands of the Tories at Westminster, we’ll be fighting issues like child poverty with one hand tied behind our backs."