Swinney defends claims Labour 'out of it' in by-election
In the run-up to the vote, the First Minister had dismissed Labour's chances. He told The Herald on Wednesday that Anas Sarwar's party was 'out of it'.
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Speaking to journalists at SNP headquarters in Edinburgh, Mr Swinney said the close result showed there had been some improvement on his party's dire performance at last year's general election.
He also insisted he remained the right person to lead the SNP into next year's Holyrood election.
'The SNP has made progress in this by-election — perhaps not as much as I would like, but progress nonetheless. That is against the backdrop of a really damaging election last summer.
"We have got to continue to focus on addressing the priorities of the people of Scotland and giving them hope about the future — for a better Scotland. That is what my leadership is about.'
He said the party had 'faced a tough time'.
'We are in a period of recovery. We have not recovered. We are in a period of recovery, so we are making headway — but not all the headway we need to make.
"I have got to ensure the SNP remains absolutely focused at all levels, in government and the party, and in all aspects of our work — making sure we complete that journey before 2026.
'Last summer, I think people would have doubted the SNP could have been in contention to win a by-election in Hamilton after the severe loss we suffered. But we were in contention. We were not strong enough to win, but we were in contention — and we will build on that.'
Asked how he had so badly misjudged the race, the First Minister said he had called it as he saw it.
'What I saw was the Labour vote collapsing compared to last summer — down 20% on the result last night. I saw Reform surging, and that was patently obvious in the result. I told people they could vote SNP to stop Reform.
"We got into contention. Last summer, we lost that constituency — roughly that area — by about 9,000 votes. This time, we were in the running.
'I think people would have been surprised last summer if the SNP had got itself into the running. But, you know, I called it as I saw it — and the result demonstrates the trends I was seeing: Labour way down, Reform way up.'
Asked if he owed voters an apology for potentially misleading them — suggesting Labour had no chance when that was not the case — Mr Swinney said he had given an 'honest assessment'.
'The Labour vote was crashing down compared to last summer. On the doorsteps, people were angry with Labour over issues like the winter fuel payment for pensioners being abolished. They told us they were not going to vote Labour. At the same time, they said they planned to vote Reform.
'The combination of those two things shaped the message: the SNP could stop Reform. I certainly do not want the poisonous politics of Farage to be imported into the Scottish Parliament.'
Asked if the result represented a failure of the SNP's ground campaign, Mr Swinney said it did not.
'What we were seeing were trends — and those trends were borne out by the result. Labour's vote is way down. Last summer, it was at 50%. They are now down to 31%. The data speaks for itself.
'Reform was a strong presence in the constituency. That is what it was. The SNP vote held firm. That was based on our position in the election last summer. We have delivered some progress — not enough. I am not for a moment suggesting we have delivered enough progress, but our share of the vote was up on last summer.'
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Mr Swinney said voters had raised concerns over NHS services, including access to GPs.
'These are issues that are very much at the heart of the priorities in the programme my government is taking forward.'
He said he would 'reflect carefully' on what voters told him during the campaign.
'Obviously, I will consider carefully what I heard. There is nothing quite like being on the doorsteps for several weeks to hear what people are thinking and feeling — you hear it very directly. So I will consider that response and determine how best the government and the SNP should respond.'
Asked about a potential reshuffle, Mr Swinney said he would 'consider all issues around the ministerial team'.
Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero. Màiri McAllan, he added, would return from maternity leave soon.
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