John Swinney warns of 'disruption' if opposition vote down Scottish Budget

The First Minister said he wanted to avoid these “very real, practical” difficulties as he appealed for support in Holyrood.

The Scottish Government is due to set out its annual Budget proposals on December 4, but the SNP will need votes from other political parties in order to get it over the line.

Talks have been ongoing in Holyrood, with the Liberal Democrats thought to be the most likely to provide backing, followed by the Greens.

Mr Swinney gave a speech at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on Wednesday morning where he set out his vision for government, emphasising the need for collaboration and consensus in tackling the challenges facing Scotland.

Speaking to journalists afterwards, he was asked if he is engaging in the usual pre-Budget “brinksmanship” or if he is genuinely concerned the Government’s Bill will not pass in time for the next financial year.

He said: “I’m simply saying that if we don’t have enough votes, we don’t have a Budget. There’ll be a lot of disruption and on April 1, there will be no Budget plans in place that will afford public services at the level people expect.

“That’s the very real, practical difficulty that will be faced, and I want to avoid that.”

However, the SNP leader said he was ready to fight an early election if this became necessary. Failure to pass a Budget could ultimately result in the collapse of the Government and a snap election.

During his speech, Mr Swinney pressed other parties for support.

“In a parliament of minorities, no political party is a mere bystander in the Budget process,” he said. “More appropriately, they should be seen as partners, certainly that is how I have always seen them in my many years of negotiating Budget Bills.

“I hope that is how they see themselves. Opposition for opposition’s sake is all well and good where governments have comfortable majorities, but put simply, in the Scottish Parliament today, if there is no collaboration, there is no Budget Bill.”

In a message to the other parties in Holyrood, he added: “We can choose to be mired in party politics, or we can choose to put first and foremost our duty to the people we represent.

“We can act with wisdom in the collective good, we can advance the prospects of the people of Scotland, but only if we are prepared to reach agreement to do so.”

Elsewhere, the First Minister was asked about the Government’s longer-term financial picture.

Last week the Institute for Fiscal Studies said that despite a boost from the UK Budget, there are tough fiscal choices ahead for ministers in Edinburgh and there will likely be little room for pre-election “goodies” ahead of the 2026 Holyrood vote.

Mr Swinney mentioned his own experience in managing public finances, saying: “We have balanced our budget, we’ve lived within our resources, we’ve delivered fiscal sustainability.

“So I appreciate that there’s lots of analysis and Excel spreadsheets and all the rest of it, but we’ve actually done it for 17 years. I kind of think that counts for something.”