John Swinney takes aim at 'real threat' of Nigel Farage's 'far-right' politics
The First Minister has warned voters not to give Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party a foothold in Scottish politics.
John Swinney has admitted Nigel Farage “presents a real threat” to the SNP winning a key Holyrood by-election as he called on voters not to “take the risk of importing divisive politics” into Scotland.
The First Minister was speaking ahead of Thursday’s Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election.
Despite last week warning the SNP was embroiled in a “three-way race” with Labour and Mr Farage’s Reform UK party, Ms Swinney has now insisted Labour are out of the running.
Asked by journalists in Hamilton about the threat of Reform, Mr Swinney pointed to the “danger of the effect on our values and our democratic politics by the contribution of the far-right”, adding that threat was “coming from a variety of different sources”.
He added: “That’s a real threat to us all and that’s why we have to take a stance on it. That’s why I’ve taken steps to try and bring people together in Scotland to protect our societal values and our democratic values.
“It’s also why it’s important we see off Nigel Farage in this by-election on Thursday. The only way to do that is by voting SNP. Labour are out of the race now - it’s crystal clear on the doorsteps they cannot win. But Farage presents a real threat.
“If people want to make sure that his politics are not imported into Scotland then they’ve got to vote for the SNP.”
It has been suggested that Reform could pip Labour to second place in the by-election, while the party has claimed it can beat SNP to win the seat.
Asked about why voters are turning to Mr Farage, Mr Swinney said: “I understand how they’re feeling because standards of living have not improved in the way that people would have had reasonable expectations. It’s because of Brexit.
“Nigel Farage is the author of Brexit. Don't go to the guy for a solution who gave you a problem in the first place. Don’t take the risk of importing divisive politics into our country because it’s far too important for us all to stick together.”
The SNP leader claimed that Reform was playing on “the anger and concerns within the community”.
He added: “We’ve got to deliver for the public on the issues that matter for them. That’s why I spend so much of my time pursuing issues in relation to the cost-of-living and in relation to improvements in the National Health Service.
“If we can deliver that substantive improvement in people’s lives, we’ll go some way to address those issues of which people are concerned.”
If the SNP can secure victory in Thursday’s by-election, it would see the party passing a huge political test after last year’s dismal general election that saw the party lose dozens of MPs.
Mr Swinney stressed the by-election was “very important” to the SNP’s electoral chances, branding it “crucial”.
He added: “I’ve been here a lot. We’ve fought a big campaign here.
“We all feel we owe a great debt of gratitude to Christina McKelvie who was an outstanding member of parliament in this area and we want to hold the seat in her memory. It’s also a big political test for us.
“A year ago, we suffered a huge defeat in the Westminster general election. We’ve learned lessons from that, we’ve gathered ourselves, we’ve addressed different priorities, our focus is very much on the concerns of the public.
“I set out when I became First Minister a year ago that I had to rebuild the relationship between the public and the Scottish National Party and the Scottish Government and that’s what I’m doing.”
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