John Swinney will have rivals at his SNP-led far-right summit - but will it be another talking shop?
John Swinney’s summit is aimed at tackling the rise of the far-right - but will it be more than a political talking shop?
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is coming for the Scottish Parliament - at least that’s what the polls, all of them, say.
Amid the growing threat of a potentially anti-devolution party gaining a foothold at Holyrood, First Minister John Swinney is holding a summit today to counter the far-right - code for how to resist Reform.
Holyrood has had representation by Reform in the past - failed Scottish Tory leadership candidate Michelle Ballantyne took the huff and defected to the party in 2021 , before later resigning her membership .
Mr Swinney’s call for a consensus to tackle the far-right and Reform exposed Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay’s hand.
By refusing to take part in the cross-party event, Mr Findlay has signalled he has no intention of calling out Reform for being too right-wing. If there was any suggestion the Scottish Tories were going to move to the centre-ground to counter Mr Farage’s surge, that has now vanished.
Instead, Mr Findlay is focusing on warning that voting for Reform will only boost the SNP - a fair point given Mr Farage’s success is likely to come at the expense of unionist parties at next year’s election.
Mr Farage has taken offence to being branded a leader of a far-right party, but the majority of people would conclude that is where Reform stands on the political spectrum.
READ MORE: 'I'll hold it but I won't eat it': Reform UK's Richard Tice's chaotic Glasgow chippy visit
It is difficult to know for sure what Reform at Holyrood will look like, given the party is yet to bring forward any tangible policies other than oppose “net stupid zero” and a vow to “make people richer”. It is quite clear the anti-immigration and populist party will sit to the right of Mr Findlay’s increasingly-right-wing group of MSPs.
The summit is a cross-party event - Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Greens co-leaders and Alex Cole-Hamilton will all play their part.
Officially, the summit is focused on “protecting Scotland’s values and democratic resilience” and will “assess the robustness of the democratic system by examining the root causes that might be undermining shared values”.
READ MORE: Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay rejects John Swinney's Reform rise summit - here's why
What that means in practical terms is unclear and it does open it up to the accusation by Mr Findlay that it could be a “talking shop”.
There are around 50 organisations taking part in the one-day discussions - so concrete plans to combat the far-right being drawn up with everyone’s input sounds impossible.
Discussions will centre around discrimination, misinformation, trust in politics and democratic participation - but there is no simple remedy to counter these substantial issues.
STUC general secretary Roz Foyer, who is expected to take part in the discussions, told Scotland on Sunday that Labour should take responsibility for the rise of Reform. The far-right will be a key theme at the STUC’s annual congress in Dundee next week.
In a shift from the cross-party support needed, Mr Sarwar has hit out at the First Minister, accusing Mr Swinney of “talking up” Reform ahead of the summit.
Speculation has emerged about who Reform will back in the event of a crunch vote to confirm who is first minister after next year’s election. One thing is clear - Reform UK is unpredictable and could back either Mr Swinney or Mr Sarwar if the occasion presents itself.
If the summit is not going to be merely a day of political posturing, party leaders who are committed to stamping out the surge of the far-right and misinformation will need to put their differences aside, perhaps bite their tongue and actively engage with the dozens of organisations who will expect answers and solutions.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.