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The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
SNP minister: Swinney has discussed indyref2 with Starmer
The row comes on the eve of a major speech by the First Minister on independence - a subject he has been accused of keeping "off the radar" by former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Speaking on June 3 after a visit to Glasgow to launch the UK's defence review, Sir Keir said the First Minister was not discussing holding a second independence referendum with him. READ MORE: 'Swinney should resign as SNP leader - disaster looms next year', warns grandee Analysis: Swinney prepares SNP for long road to independence Swinney risks SNP backlash over independence strategy Starmer: Swinney hasn't asked me about new independence vote The Prime Minister was asked if he could imagine another independence referendum during his time as Prime Minister. Sir Keir said: "No, and nobody's raising that with me as their first priority. Certainly, in the discussions I'm having with the First Minister, that is not - we're talking about jobs, energy, security, and dealing with the cost-of-living crisis." But speaking on the BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland, Ms Martin said the matter had been discussed. The presenter put it to the senior minister that Mr Swinney had not broached the subject of a second independence referendum with the Prime Minister. "If he hasn't asked [for a new referendum], how does he expect to achieve", she was pressed. Ms Martin replied: "I would imagine that the First Minister has broached that subject with the Prime Minister." Last month Mr Swinney said a "democratic majority" of pro-independence MSPs following the next Scottish Parliament election should result in another referendum. But in the same interview on June 3, the Prime Minister said whatever the outcome next May, an independence referendum is "not a priority". Scots voted in an independence referendum in 2014, with the No side securing 55% of the vote. Successive UK governments have denied the SNP's requests for a second referendum. Since coming into office last year the First Minister has been pretty quiet on his party's founding goal. He scrapped Ms Sturgeon's Building a New Scotland series, documents aimed at updating the 2014 independence prospectus and axed the post of independence minister from government. Back in January, former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon declared that independence was "off the radar" - a claim swiftly rejected by Mr Swinney. In July last year, during her appearance as a pundit on ITV's general election programme, Ms Sturgeon blamed a lack of focus on independence for the SNP's general election defeat, when it dropped from 48 Westminster seats to nine. She said that the SNP 'left themselves between two stools on the independence question', adding that placing the constitution on the front page of the party's manifesto 'was never followed through on a sort of day-to-day basis in the campaign'. In his post election speech, Mr Swinney seemed to suggest the problem was that the SNP had failed to persuading people why the party believed independence was needed. He said that the SNP had 'failed to convince people of the urgency of independence in this election campaign', adding: 'Therefore, we need to take the time to consider and to reflect on how we deliver our commitment to independence, which remains absolute.'
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
FM faces SNP criticism if he doesn't progress independence
John Swinney will mark his first anniversary on Thursday since he was sworn in as Scotland's First Minister. His return from the backbenches to take up the role as head of the government took most people - even perhaps himself - by surprise. To most observers Mr Swinney is seen as bringing calm to the SNP after a rocky period which followed the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon in March 2023, the bitter leadership contest of Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, and the stepping up of the Police Scotland investigation into party finances. Thanks to the combination of a drop in support for Labour after unpopular UK government decisions such as the axing of the universal winter fuel payments and increase in employers' national insurance contributions - and the rise in popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform UK - polling suggests the SNP is now on course to remain in power after the 2026 Holyrood elections. READ MORE: But what of Mr Swinney's work on independence? And could his lack of progress on achieving the goal mean he may face a backlash from inside the SNP, as Professor James Mitchell of Edinburgh University told The Herald on Sunday at the weekend? Since coming into office the First Minister has been pretty quiet on his party's founding goal. He scrapped Ms Sturgeon's Building a New Scotland series, documents aimed at updating the 2014 independence prospectus and axed the post of independence minister from government. Indeed's he's been so quiet on independence since coming into office, that back in January Ms Sturgeon declared that independence was "off the radar". Her claim was swiftly and unsurprisingly rejected by Mr Swinney. But it's hard to see what Mr Swinney's strategy on delivering independence actually is. Some in the SNP say the strategy is to simply try and quietly drive up support among undecided Scots for the aim without actually addressing it explicitly. They argue that by governing well and showing the merits of being a competent devolved government support for independence will inevitably rise. Maybe so. But what about the mechanism of delivering it? It's far from clear what the SNP process is currently to achieving independence. If it's demanding a Section 30 order to transfer powers to Holyrood to hold a second independence vote, repeated calls by former FM Ms Sturgeon to the UK Government didn't work even after the SNP won major elections at Westminster and Holyrood. So it's hardly likely to be a goer should the SNP win the next Holyrood elections even if the UK government is led by Labour rather than the Conservatives. Another possible option, namely the holding of an advisory referendum by Holyrood without the UK Government's agreement, had to be jettisoned when the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the powers to do so. Since then, there has been little public discussion by the SNP about the process of achieving independence. In December, Mr Swinney called for Scotland to have some form of formal mechanism to allow the country to hold an independence referendum similar to that which Northern Ireland has in the Good Friday Agreement. I'd be sceptical whether these demands will be met. They didn't succeed during the Brexit debates when the Scottish Government sought a special arrangement for Scotland on the grounds Northern Ireland one. Both Conservative and Labour politicians opposed such a deal arguing the two states had very different histories in terms of their connections to the Union with Northern Ireland suffering 30 year of violent conflict. Twelve months since becoming First Minister Mr Swinney is a popular figure inside the SNP, appreciated for bringing stability after turmoil. But having done so, it is likely he will start to face pressure inside his party to make progress on independence and should he not do so he may find support begin to wane.
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
FM may face SNP criticism if he doesn't progress independence
John Swinney will mark his first anniversary on Thursday since he was sworn in as Scotland's First Minister. His return from the backbenches to take up the role as head of the government took most people - even perhaps himself - by surprise. To most observers Mr Swinney is seen as bringing calm to the SNP after a rocky period which followed the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon in March 2023, the bitter leadership contest of Humza Yousaf, Kate Forbes and Ash Regan, and the stepping up of the Police Scotland investigation into party finances. Thanks to the combination of a drop in support for Labour after unpopular UK government decisions such as the axing of the universal winter fuel payments and increase in employers' national insurance contributions - and the rise in popularity of Nigel Farage's Reform UK - polling suggests the SNP is now on course to remain in power after the 2026 Holyrood elections. READ MORE: But what of Mr Swinney's work on independence? And could his lack of progress on achieving the goal mean he may face a backlash from inside the SNP, as Professor James Mitchell of Edinburgh University told The Herald on Sunday at the weekend? Since coming into office the First Minister has been pretty quiet on his party's founding goal. He scrapped Ms Sturgeon's Building a New Scotland series, documents aimed at updating the 2014 independence prospectus and axed the post of independence minister from government. Indeed's he's been so quiet on independence since coming into office, that back in January Ms Sturgeon declared that independence was "off the radar". Her claim was swiftly and unsurprisingly rejected by Mr Swinney. But it's hard to see what Mr Swinney's strategy on delivering independence actually is. Some in the SNP say the strategy is to simply try and quietly drive up support among undecided Scots for the aim without actually addressing it explicitly. They argue that by governing well and showing the merits of being a competent devolved government support for independence will inevitably rise. Maybe so. But what about the mechanism of delivering it? It's far from clear what the SNP process is currently to achieving independence. If it's demanding a Section 30 order to transfer powers to Holyrood to hold a second independence vote, repeated calls by former FM Ms Sturgeon to the UK Government didn't work even after the SNP won major elections at Westminster and Holyrood. So it's hardly likely to be a goer should the SNP win the next Holyrood elections even if the UK government is led by Labour rather than the Conservatives. Another possible option, namely the holding of an advisory referendum by Holyrood without the UK Government's agreement, had to be jettisoned when the Supreme Court ruled that the Scottish Parliament did not have the powers to do so. Since then, there has been little public discussion by the SNP about the process of achieving independence. In December, Mr Swinney called for Scotland to have some form of formal mechanism to allow the country to hold an independence referendum similar to that which Northern Ireland has in the Good Friday Agreement. I'd be sceptical whether these demands will be met. They didn't succeed during the Brexit debates when the Scottish Government sought a special arrangement for Scotland on the grounds Northern Ireland one. Both Conservative and Labour politicians opposed such a deal arguing the two states had very different histories in terms of their connections to the Union with Northern Ireland suffering 30 year of violent conflict. Twelve months since becoming First Minister Mr Swinney is a popular figure inside the SNP, appreciated for bringing stability after turmoil. But having done so, it is likely he will start to face pressure inside his party to make progress on independence and should he not do so he may find support begin to wane.
