Latest news with #Holyrood
Telegraph
a day ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
SNP leader attempts to quash rebels with IndyRef2
The SNP leader has attempted to quash party rebels by dangling the prospects of a second independence referendum. John Swinney, the First Minister, said that the SNP winning an outright majority at Holyrood should be 'good enough' to force Sir Keir Starmer to drop his opposition to allowing a separation vote. He argued a precedent had been set at the 2011 election, when Alex Salmond led the SNP to a majority win and then-prime minister David Cameron authorised a referendum. But a former Cabinet minister in the Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon governments said Mr Swinney was 'living in cloud cuckoo land' given the current level of public support for the SNP. Alex Neil, a former Scottish health secretary, said backing for the SNP would have to increase by 50 per cent in less than a year for the party to achieve a majority and this was 'almost impossible'. Successive UK governments have repeatedly turned down SNP calls for a second referendum, with the UK Supreme Court ruling in 2022 that only Westminster can allow another poll. Speaking alongside Donald Trump at the US president's Turnberry resort in Ayrshire on Monday, Sir Keir accused Mr Swinney of 'the politics of yesteryear' and said the four home nations were stronger together. Sir Keir said: 'I think that at a time like this, when it's quite clear that there's uncertainty and volatility around the world, the strength of the United Kingdom together is very important for all four nations, very important for Scotland, and that should be our priority. 'That should be our focus, not on the politics which feels like the politics of yesteryear now at a time like this, and I think that the First Minister should probably focus more on his delivery in Scotland than on his constitutional issues and we might have a better health service in Scotland.' Mr Trump said he recalled there was a 'restriction' in 2014 'like 50 or 75 years before you could take another vote because a country can't go through that too much'. He added that he had heard 'great things' about Mr Swinney. Sir Keir also said last month that he could not imagine another referendum being staged while he is prime minister and an SNP victory in the May 2026 election would not change his mind. When she was first minister, Ms Sturgeon claimed that there should be another referendum if there was a majority of independence-supporting MSPs, including SNP and Green members. But Mr Swinney's new benchmark of an outright SNP majority is much more difficult to achieve under Holyrood's electoral system, which is partly based on proportional representation. After taking over last year, he initially won praise for overseeing a recovery in the SNP's fortunes following the troubled final months of Ms Sturgeon's premiership and Mr Yousaf's chaotic tenure. But internal grumbling about his leadership has increased since last month's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Scottish Parliament by-election, when Labour pulled off a shock victory and the SNP vote fell by 17 points. It was reported last month that he risked facing a leadership challenge at the SNP conference in October unless he comes up with a new strategy to achieve independence. He now plans to table a motion to be debated at the Aberdeen conference arguing that the SNP winning outright in the May 2026 election is the mechanism for triggering another referendum. 'Democratic future' The First Minister told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme: 'It's fundamentally a democratic issue here that people in Scotland, in a voluntary union, must be able to choose their own democratic future, and that was accepted after the SNP won a majority in the Scottish Parliament on our own in 2011. 'I'm making the point that having established that precedent, we must be in a position to be able to give the people of Scotland the choice about the constitutional future.' Mr Swinney argued that 'a generation has now passed' since the 2014 referendum, with a million new voters added to the electoral roll. Calling for a rerun, he said that 'the way to do that is the way we did it in 2011, which is to elect a majority of SNP MSPs to the Scottish Parliament'. A senior SNP source told the Daily Record that a combined SNP-Green majority should be enough for another referendum but the experience of the past four years showed 'this is not going to happen'. But Mr Neil, who last month called for Mr Swinney to be 'replaced immediately', said: 'To win an overall majority the SNP would have to get about 45 per cent of the vote. The SNP is currently at about 30 per cent of the vote and has been stuck at that figure for some time. 'It's almost an impossible task for it to increase its vote share by 50 per cent in the next 10 months given the last 10 years of policy delivery and poor performance under Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney.' He said Mr Swinney's announcement was an attempt to silence his critics at the SNP conference. Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence.' Dame Jackie Baillie, the Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: 'This SNP government has lost its way and ran out of ideas - while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list. 'Despite that, John Swinney can't end his own obsession with division, and today has confirmed he'll put Scots second to appease his own party.'
Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Times
Swinney ditches Sturgeon's route map to independence
The precedent set by the SNP's 2011 election victory would break the 'logjam' towards a second independence referendum, John Swinney has said. Speaking in Falkirk, the first minister said there should be a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections. Previously, he had said a 'democratic majority' of pro-independence MSPs after next year's Scottish parliament elections should pave the way to a new vote on the constitutional question. The SNP leader will bring a motion to the party's autumn conference that abandons Nicola Sturgeon's previous stance that a pro-independence majority of nationalist and Greens MSPs was sufficient to secure a second poll. Writing in the Daily Record, Swinney insisted a clear SNP majority at May's Holyrood elections is the only proven path to achieving a legally recognised referendum.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Precedent from SNP's 2011 win would break ‘logjam' to indyref2
The precedent set by the SNP's 2011 election victory would break the 'logjam' towards a second independence referendum, John Swinney has said. The First Minister said there should be a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections. Previously, he has said a 'democratic majority' of pro-independence MSPs after next year's Scottish Parliament elections should pave the way to a new vote on the constitutional question. In a newspaper column published on Monday, the SNP leader called for the May 2026 Holyrood elections to be 'a springboard for Scotland taking charge of our own destiny'. He spoke to journalists further at the Kelpies statues near Falkirk, saying: 'The necessity of independence is absolutely paramount and we've got to make that case in the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. 'But there's a logjam and we've got to break that logjam. 'We demonstrated how we break the logjam in the past, by electing a majority of SNP MSPs in 2011, and that led to an independence referendum in 2014.' He invited supporters of independence to back his party in the constituency vote and to 'demand independence' in the regional vote. Asked whether an SNP majority was a high bar to clear, he said: 'The way we break the logjam is to rely on the precedent that happened in 2011.' Mr Swinney also said recent opinion polls had shown rising support for independence. Since the Brexit vote in 2016, repeated prime ministers have rebuffed the SNP's calls for another Scottish independence referendum. Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence. 'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK. 'The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his Government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK.' Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: 'This SNP Government has lost its way and ran out of ideas – while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list. 'Despite that, John Swinney can't end his own obsession with division and today has confirmed he'll put Scots second to appease his own party. 'From the crisis in our NHS to the violence in our schools, the SNP has left every institution in Scotland weaker. 'This is not as good as it gets and in 2026 Scotland will have a chance to put a stop to SNP decline and vote for a fresh start.' Alex Cole-Hamilton, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, said: 'At last year's election the SNP took an almighty beating because people were tired of them obsessing over one issue. It seems like John Swinney is a glutton for punishment. 'Perhaps rather than focusing on what the SNP membership cares about, he should focus on what the country needs. 'The health service and the state of our schools has been neglected for too long because all the SNP care about is breaking up the UK.'
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
SNP majority only way to secure second referendum
An SNP majority at Holyrood is the only way to ensure a second independence referendum, the first minister has Swinney said securing independence would be at the heart of his party's campaign for the 2026 are currently 60 SNP MSPs at Holyrood. A majority would require the SNP to win 65 of 129 seats in parliament. Swinney spoke to BBC Scotland News ahead of a meeting with US President Donald Trump, during his visit to Scotland. "We've got to put a priority on securing independence," the first minister said."We do that by electing a majority of SNP MSPs to the Scottish Parliament and then taking forward the democratic path to independence which will secure the future of our country."Swinney said a second referendum would allow the SNP to make "Scotland's energy wealth work for Scotland" and make "fair and equitable" changes to the welfare said: "It only happens if we have that referendum and we only get that referendum if a majority of SNP MSPs are elected next May. 'Out of ideas' The SNP won a majority at the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, which led the way to the 2014 independence said a majority in 2026 would put similar pressure on the UK added: "There's no UK prime minister that can sit around and essentially deny the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland."Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is also in Scotland to meet with Donald Trump. Swinney and Starmer are both expected to attend a private dinner with the president. Labour and the Conservatives were both criticial of Swinney's Labour deputy Leader Jackie Baillie said the SNP had "lost its way and ran out of said: "John Swinney can't end his own obsession with division, and today has confirmed he'll put Scots second to appease his own party."From the crisis in our NHS to the violence in our schools, the SNP has left every institution in Scotland weaker."Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said people were "sick and tired" with Swinney's "obsession" with breaking up the added: " In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on, independence." This is quite a big moment, as John Swinney is setting a very high bar for a second suggest the SNP is currently falling short of an outright majority, with the 2026 election looming. In fact, losing seats (while remaining the largest party) looks more likely on current why is John Swinney doing this? Well, the idea of independence is currently more popular than the SNP. So it's logical to tie his party as closely to that cause as he wants to dissuade pro-independence Scottish voters from looking towards other parties which back leaving the it's a risky strategy. If he falls short of a majority in 2026, it looks like independence will have to take a back seat for a regardless of result, what if the UK government just says "no"? It's unclear where the first minister would go from there.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Swinney calls for legal referendum if SNP secures majority at Holyrood election
First Minister John Swinney has called for a 'legal referendum recognised by all' on Scottish independence if the SNP secures a majority at the Holyrood elections. Writing in a column in the Daily Record, Mr Swinney said that in the 17 years since the 2008 financial crash 'people feel like they are working harder than ever, but not seeing any improvement in their living standards'. He said the UK economy is 'fundamentally failing to deliver for ordinary people' as well as generating insufficient funding for public services. The SNP leader called for the May 2026 Holyrood elections to be 'a springboard for Scotland taking charge of our own destiny'. He said the situation had got worse since the 2014 referendum, and wrote: 'Think what could have been achieved had we not been forced to spend so much time and money trying to mitigate the ongoing damage of Brexit. 'Or the carnage unleashed by Liz Truss's mini-budget. Or the years of austerity, or Westminster cuts like the Winter Fuel Payment. 'We were told we didn't need independence and we just needed a Labour government – but look how that has turned out.' He wrote that 'independence is the catalyst that will deliver a better future for us all' and that 'with Scotland's energy resources in Scotland's hands, we can reduce bills for consumers and cut costs for businesses'. Mr Swinney revealed he hoped to deliver an SNP majority similar to 2011 in a bid to 'secure a legal referendum recognised by all' and had submitted a motion to the SNP conference proposing that 'we work to deliver a majority of SNP MSPs in the Scottish Parliament to secure that referendum'. He pledged to unveil 'radical policies that we know will transform Scotland' in the coming months, and to 'break the logjam and end this frustration that we all feel'. Mr Swinney added: 'We must be ready to follow the path which we know can lead us to an independent state.' Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: 'John Swinney is like a broken record. In a bid to silence internal critics of his weak leadership, he has thrown diehard nationalists some more red meat on the one issue they all agree on: independence. 'Ordinary Scots are sick and tired of the SNP's obsession with breaking up the UK. 'The public want John Swinney to focus on fixing the damage his government has done in decimating essential services such as schools and the NHS at the same time as making Scotland the highest taxed part of the UK.'
