Farage has brought ‘racism and hatred' to Hamilton by-election, says Swinney
Nigel Farage has been accused of 'racism and hatred' by John Swinney in the last weekend of campaigning before polls open in the Hamilton by-election.
The Scottish first minster hit out at the Reform UK leader, claiming he was a 'real threat' ahead of voting in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on Thursday.
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Criticism has been levelled at Mr Farage's party after a Facebook ad claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was prioritising Pakistani people over Scots and included a section of a speech in which he encouraged more people from south Asian backgrounds to enter politics.
Nigel Farage (Ben Whitley/PA)
Addressing activists – including a number of MSPs, former MPs and candidates for the 2026 Holyrood election – in Hamilton on Saturday, Mr Swinney contrasted Reform UK with former minister Christina McKelvie, whose death prompted the by-election.
'This is a by-election that none of us wanted to be fighting, because it meant that we'd lost somebody we loved, Christina McKelvie, who was an individual that represented generosity, tolerance and inclusion,' he said.
'That was how she went about her work in this constituency and in Parliament, and that's the antithesis of what's been brought into this by-election campaign by the politics of Nigel Farage, who's brought racism and hatred right into the heart of this community, and it is repugnant.
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'We are going to stand up to it in every way we can.'
In response to journalists, the first minister said he was not concerned about defamation claims stemming from his allegations of racism against Mr Farage.
When the by-election was called, it was widely seen as a two-horse race between the SNP's Katy Loudon and Labour's Davy Russell, but recent weeks have seen a surge in fortune for Mr Farage's party.
Speaking to the PA news agency after his speech, the first minister said it is 'very clear' that Labour is 'out of this contest' and it is now 'between the SNP and Farage'.
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'I want to make sure that Farage's politics don't get any hold in Scotland, they are damaging,' he said.
In his speech, the first minister repeatedly referenced Mr Farage, but when asked if he was increasing the chance of Reform gaining a foothold by paying the party's leader so much attention, Mr Swinney said: 'I've just got to make sure that people in this constituency are aware of the threat that Farage poses in this election.
'If Farage gets in here, then you know the agenda of NHS privatisation is what will follow, the agenda of undermining the Scottish Parliament will follow, because that's what he believes in.'
Elsewhere in Hamilton on Saturday, Reform UK's candidate Ross Lambie gathered activists ahead of a canvassing session, including some bussed into the constituency from the north of England.
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Speaking to journalists, Mr Lambie was asked why the parties believed to be the frontrunners at the beginning of the campaign were spending so much time on Reform.
'They're doing their canvassing and they're getting the same results as we are, that's why,' he said.
He added: 'We are super proud that we're not being pigeon-holed with any particular voter and we're not being boxed into certain aspects of the community.
'We're getting votes from across the area.
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'If you were to chat to these volunteers, you'll find some of them were SNP voters in the past, many of them were Labour voters, Conservative voters.
'So that's the thing we're most proud of, that we're breaking down those old barriers in Scottish politics.'
Anas Sarwar (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Mr Sarwar said Labour is still in the race for the seat in Thursday's vote.
'It's between ourselves and the SNP, every single vote is going to count,' he told PA on Saturday.
'That's why, if you want to beat the SNP, if you want a local champion, if you want to start that pathway to a new direction, the best way of doing that is to vote for one of your own – vote for Davy Russell.'
The Labour leader also accused the first minister of 'talking up Reform for a very, very long time', an assertion Mr Swinney rejects, while saying he would 'call out Nigel Farage's poison'.
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