John Swinney challenges Nigel Farage to debate as SNP leader calls out 'politics of racism'
Voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse head to the polls on June 5 in a race that could have national repercussions.
John Swinney has challenged Nigel Farage to a debate as the First Minister today called out Reform UK's "politics of racism"
The First Minister spoke out on the final Friday of campaigning before voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse go to the polls on June 5.
It comes after a "racist" social media ad paid for by Farage's party to attack Anas Sarwar caused a major backlash this week.
The advert – which the SNP and Labour have demanded be removed by Meta – shows clips of Sarwar calling for more representation of Scots with south Asian heritage, although he did not say he would prioritise any one group.
Labour has previously described the ad as 'blatantly racist', and Keir Starmer has accused Farage of 'introducing poison into our politics'.
Voters go to the polls on June 5 in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood constituency – a by-election called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
Farage is expected to campaign in Scotland early next week.
Sarwar has said he is willing to debate the Reform UK leader, saying 'I'll challenge him any time, any place in Hamilton, any town hall'.
During a visit to the Auchentoshan Distillery near Glasgow on Friday, the First Minister was asked if he too is ready to debate Mr Farage.
He said: 'I would, of course, debate with Nigel Farage.
'But what's important is that we've got a contest on Thursday, which is an attempt by Farage to insert his politics of racism and poison into Scotland.
'I want to make sure the SNP wins the two-horse race in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
'It's crystal clear to me, the Labour campaign is collapsing and only votes for the SNP will stop Farage.'
Reform UK spokesman and Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr had earlier responded to the Prime Minister's attacks on his party.
He said: 'Reform UK won't take any lectures on 'restoring trust in politics' from Keir Starmer.
'This is a Prime Minister whose first decision in office was to plunge millions of pensioners into fuel poverty.
'Labour's campaign in Hamilton has been a calamity of car-crash gaffes from a candidate who ducks the media, a leader who forgets the candidate's name, and a Prime Minister who refuses to even turn up.
'Starmer and Sarwar have broken Scotland. Reform will fix it.'
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The Guardian
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Farage's 'leftwing' pose is flimsy – but so are Labour's own governing fantasies
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For the Thatcherite fanboy and former City trader, these were unusual positions, and the Westminster lobby lapped up the controversy – suggesting that, for parts of the Tory press, deviations from austerity will only be permissible when delivered with Farageist chutzpah. 'How Farage's fiery speech signals a seismic shift in UK politics – and the end for Starmer,' the Daily Express declared. 'Nigel leans left and hits the bullseye,' Tim Stanley cooed in the Daily Telegraph. The Sun wondered whether they should now call Farage 'Red Nigel'. But in reality, rather than represent an unprecedented reconfiguration of British politics, the speech was a typically opportunistic and cynical intervention from Farage: he noisily supported two policies that mounting reports suggested Labour were set to implement anyway, within a broader message that was far more George Osborne than Jeremy Corbyn. 'The great divide that is opening up in British society,' Farage claimed, was between those who wake up early and go to work and those who stay in bed and enjoy a similar quality of life. Workers and shirkers, in other words – same as it ever was. How worried should Labour be by Reform's overtures to the left? Farage's star is clearly rising and Reform has already surpassed Ukip's electoral achievements. After triumphing in the recent local elections, with more than 670 new council seats and a third of the vote, Reform now leads the pack in many national opinion polls. But Labour should first and foremost be worried by itself. Starmer's government appears to be in a permanently defensive state, commanding an enormous majority in parliament and yet rarely seeming to do more than react to events around it – sometimes left, often right. The prime minister's personal approval rating has suffered the consequences of this hapless strategy, reaching record lows with 38-point drop since last year's election. Meanwhile Red Nigel circles like a vulture. The two-child cap is illustrative. Since entering government with the promise of 'change', Labour maintained it would have to keep the policy – a transparently cruel inheritance from Osborne that made child poverty levels soar. Now the party appears increasingly likely to lift the cap, but what could have been a historic moment of rupture with Cruel Britannia – a move that will lift half a million children out of poverty, according to the Resolution Foundation – may easily be seen by the public as a reluctant concession to various Labour MPs and now Farage: not an empowered rebuttal of Tory austerity and the dawn of a new era, but yet more flip-flopping and an affirmation of Farage's influence. In his speech, Farage claimed that Reform represented the biggest revolution in British politics since Labour overtook the Liberal party in the 1920s – and there are some parallels. Back then, the Tories saw Labour as both an existential threat and an opportunity: Labour was a foreboding movement, but the Tories could take fleeting comfort in the knowledge that it was the Liberals who would suffer the severest blow. Labour now treats Reform with a similar ambivalence: worried yet reassured that the Tories will be the main victim. But an irreverent and vengeful Farage, powered by grievances and resentment from both deindustrialised Britain and the elite will have a far more corrosive effect on British politics and wider society than Labour ever threatened. For now, after the fallout of his 'island of strangers' speech, Starmer's strategy to deal with Reform will be to call out its economics as a fantasy. 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Cross the Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver in Canada and the roads and campsites are absolutely full of them, mainly driven by overseas tourists with all the time in the world on their hands. Over there, they are very much welcomed, although there will undoubtedly be some grumbles from locals who are constantly stuck behind them, To be fair, the main road through the Rockies is pretty decent and there are plenty of places to overtake. But it is a very different situation in Scotland where campervans are treated as public enemy number one, particularly by people who live along the NC500. It is easy to understand why they are so controversial. For a start, the NC500 is not equipped to deal with campervans, particularly the famed Bealach na Ba from Lochcarron to the Applecross peninsula. It is a nerve-wracking series of hairpin bends straight up the hill and it is scary enough when you only have cars coming the other way to worry about. 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He said the move would form part of a 'fair and well–designed' visitor levy to help maintain roads and fund public services stretched by surging tourist numbers. The Highlands have seen a dramatic increase in motorhome tourism in recent years, with Highland Council estimating that nearly 36,000 campervans toured the region in 2022 alone. That has led to a surge in complaints about congestion, illegal overnight parking, and waste being dumped. Residents on the NC500 route have reported damaged verges, blocked passing places and overfilled bins during peak season. Highland Council estimates a 5% levy on overnight accommodation could raise £10 million a year — with that figure rising further if a charge on campervans is included. The council held a four–month public consultation on its draft scheme earlier this year and is now considering the feedback ahead of a full council vote. If approved, the levy could come into force by winter 2026 - the earliest permitted under legislation passed by Holyrood last year. That law, the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, gives local authorities the power to impose a charge on overnight tourist stays and spend the revenue on services that support tourism. While the levy must be used to fund tourism–related improvements, critics have warned it must not be used to replace core funding lost through years of cuts. Scottish Labour has long supported the introduction of a visitor levy and backed the legislation at Holyrood. The party says councils should be empowered to design their own schemes and use the money to improve facilities for both residents and visitors. However, it was recently criticised by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who described it as a tax on 'ordinary working people'. Mr Fraser said: 'Initiatives such as the North Coast 500 have transformed the dynamics of Highland tourism, with a huge rise in campervans using rural single–track Highland roads. "Our roads cannot cope with this. It is a mixed blessing.' "Highland communities and local services must benefit from tourism. I support a fair and well–designed visitor levy and sensible measures to manage the impact of campervans. 'I would be open to looking at options attached to campervans, including number plate recognition to charge visiting campervans using Highland roads. I think that this should be considered.' While this may sound draconian, it is certainly well worth considering. Anyone who has driven the NC500, or at least parts of it, particularly in Wester Ross and Sutherland, can see the road is not suitable for such a vast amount of campervans. And with the rise of social media sites such as Instagram fuelling people's desires to get the best pics at beauty spots that regularly feature then the situation is not going to get any better. Any revenue raised that pays for better facilities and road improvements would be welcomed by pretty much everyone. For those put off by the levy, then they probably weren't the type to go and act responsibly anyway. Like everything else, it is not the campervans fault entirely, but the people who drive them and their passengers. They are to blame for the state of the place and there is absolutely no excuse for behaving like savages just because the area is beautiful but remote. They would be the first ones to complain if folk from the Highlands travelled down to their local park, left litter and human waste lying about and parked up on a path for days. Obviously, the good folk of the Highlands wouldn't dream of doing such a thing so why do people from urban areas think it's fair game? It is a good idea to tax them, in my opinion, in fact it should be extremely expensive so that it deters many people. Maybe training courses should also be mandatory, educating people on the right way to drive and behave generally when travelling on rural roads. Tourism is the main economic driver of the Highlands but it is in severe danger of becoming over-visited. It is no longer just a summer thing, but now lasts throughout the year thanks to initiatives such as the NC500. But there is a tipping point and we are probably nearly there already as many of the remotest areas become swamped and can no longer cope. Visitors all have a responsibility when they are on holiday and anything that can deter the irresponsible ones should be welcomed - by everyone.
