Anas Sarwar has announced that he will be re-establishing the Labour Shadow Cabinet for the first time since he was elected Scottish Labour leader three years ago.
Labour MSPs in Holyrood have collectively met without a specific meeting for members with portfolio responsibilities in that time.
This move has prompted us to ponder, 'When does a Shadow Cabinet begin to resemble the next government?'
Sarwar's move raises questions about whether he perceives this as an opportune PR moment to communicate to voters that Scottish Labour is once again a viable choice for government.
It is a calculated signal to project party unity and competence to show voters that Scottish Labour can govern effectively.
As Labour and the SNP kicked off their 2024 General Election campaigns with respective leader speeches this past Monday, Sarwar's move feels like a subtle management shift. It tells us Scottish Labour understands prospective governments start acting like they are in power long before election day.
It is also profoundly reminiscent of Tony Blair's Opposition leadership in the 1990s. At some point, at one moment, all the PR moments, all the attacks on the government, all the speeches and all those soundbites coalesced into the electorate viewing him as a leader-in-waiting. Number 10 was a step, not a leap, by 1997.
Does Scottish Labour perceive Humza Yousaf as that vulnerable in his role as SNP leader and, more significantly, as First Minister?
As we near the first anniversary of Yousaf's premiership, a year which has been dogged with scandals, an inability to control internal party dissent and notable defections, Scottish Labour might smell blood.
Scottish Labour is evidently positioning itself to exploit these weaknesses during the upcoming UK General Election, seeking to dent the SNP's dominance before mounting a sustained effort to challenge Yousaf's leadership and the party's grip on Bute House at the Scottish Parliamentary Elections in 2026.
As the countdown to the UK election unfolds, the political dynamics in Scotland are poised to change, and the implications of Sarwar's strategic decision could echo far beyond the shadow of the upcoming polls.
At the moment, it looks as if Sarwar has decided Scottish Labour is ready. The next UK general election feels like a serious drill for a serious run at Holyrood, and Bute House, in the years ahead.
by Alastair Stewart, Account Director