John Swinney has said he plans to work with the nationalist first ministers in Wales and Northern Ireland to oppose Labour’s policies on the cost of living and UK government spending. The Scottish National party leader confirmed he had spoken to Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Féin first minister of Northern Ireland, who congratulated him on his party’s “emphatic” victory in the Holyrood elections.
Swinney, who will be sworn in as Scotland’s first minister next week, said he expected Plaid Cymru’s leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth, to become first minister of Wales after winning the Senedd elections for the first time. He said he looked forward to ensuring the voices of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are “heard loud and clear” in the UK.
The alliance comes as Reform UK has emerged as a significant force, coming joint second in the Holyrood elections alongside Scottish Labour, each winning 17 seats. Swinney said he would not collaborate with Reform beyond basic legal requirements, a stance Malcolm Offord, Reform’s Scottish leader, called “arrogant, petty and deeply undemocratic”.
Swinney indicated the three leaders are likely to challenge the UK government’s use of the Internal Markets Act to impose policies over the devolved administrations. He also cited previous campaigns to lift the two-child benefit cap and said all three parties were clear about the merits of rejoining the EU to address the UK’s economic decline.
In his victory speech, ap Iorwerth hailed a “new beginning” for Wales, adding that no UK government could “cast Wales aside”. UK government sources said they were unperturbed by the prospect of collaboration, noting that different parties in different administrations is “in the very nature of democracy”.
Swinney confirmed he will table a draft bill next week calling for Holyrood to have powers to stage a second independence referendum, though the document has no legal force under the Scotland Act 1998. He argued that the addition of 15 Scottish Green MSPs gives Holyrood its largest ever pro-independence majority, but stopped short of claiming a cast-iron mandate.
