John Swinney is facing demands to drop his independence referendum push after he failed to secure the majority he said would be a mandate. The SNP suffered losses compared with the last election in 2021, losing six seats to finish on 58 – seven short of a majority.
Despite saying throughout the campaign that an SNP majority would be a mandate for another independence referendum, the SNP leader refused to take it off the table. On a dramatic day of election results:
- Sir Keir Starmer was blamed for heavy Labour losses in Scotland and across the UK;
- In the biggest scalp of the day, Mr Swinney’s close colleague Angus Robertson was ousted from Holyrood and pushed into third place by former Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater;
- Reform UK won 17 seats to tie with Labour in second place – as opponents said it had helped the SNP by denying pro-Union rivals constituency seats;
- The Conservatives lost their position as the parliament's largest opposition party, suffering their worst-ever Holyrood election result to finish with 12 seats;
- The Greens won 15 seats and pledged to force the SNP further to the Left and oppose new North Sea drilling, after victories including Nicola Sturgeon’s old seat;
- The Lib Dems began a bounceback with their best result since 2007, winning 10 seats including the seat of former Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes.
John Swinney has been told drop his plans for another referendum. The final results were confirmed late last night – and comes after Scots voted tactically to help a series of pro-union candidates defeat the SNP.
Following the results, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: ‘A majority was never, ever going to be a mandate for a referendum but of course John Swinney would have used that as a stick with which to beat Keir Starmer to demand a referendum. But John Swinney cares about only one thing and that is breaking up the United Kingdom, so even though he has fallen short he will move the goalposts so that John Swinney will say – and mark my words – that they’ve got potentially a pro-independence majority of MSPs. Based upon a turnout where about half of Scots couldn’t be bothered to vote, and the SNP vote is well down on where it was, he knows this is no kind of mandate but that is exactly what he will attempt to say and do. He is going to fixate on independence on day one at parliament and every day thereafter, and for five more years Scotland is going to get worse. This is what saddens me the most about this result. Yes, I’m sad for my colleagues and for the effectiveness of our party – but I’m more disappointed in what this means for Scotland.’
Speaking to BBC Scotland last night, Mr Swinney said: ‘I obviously believe fundamentally in Scottish independence. It’s at the heart of my political life and my aspirations for Scotland. I’m certain there will be a pro-independence majority in the Scottish parliament. What parliament has got to do in the years to come is consider the aspirations of all parties, consider the aspirations of those who want Scotland to be an independent country. I will want to do as much as I can to advance that agenda in the circumstances we face.’
He claimed that ‘Swinneyism’ meant ‘co-operative’ and ‘respectful politics’, and added: ‘I will be the First Minister for all of Scotland. I’ll try to bring the country together. It’s about helping Scotland to be as good as Scotland can possibly be.’
Asked if he planned to ask the UK Government for a referendum, he said: ‘I’d like to enjoy a more co-operative relationship with the United Kingdom Government. John Swinney and wife Elizabeth at the count yesterday. We have to be partners, we’ve got shared interests. There has been a souring of relationships over the last nine months with the UK Government. It’s all been about the politics of the election. Now the Labour Government has just been hammered in Scotland and I hope that lesson is learnt in Downing Street. There’s now got to be respect for the Scottish Government. An understanding that people in Scotland want to make their own choices. So my message to Downing Street tonight is very, very clear. They have got a lot of listening to do to the fact that Labour have been hammered here in Scotland and an SNP government, after 19 years in office, has just been emphatically returned to office. Scotland needs respect as a consequence of that election outcome.’
