JOHN Swinney has revealed that despite his father being “fascinated” by what he does in politics he has never told him who he votes for.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson for his Political Thinking show the First Minister revealed that he has no idea which party his father supports or if he wants Scottish independence.
Swinney also confirmed during the interview that he will be running for re-election in the 2026 Holyrood elections saying he is here for the “long haul”.
Talking about his father and politics, the leader of the SNP said: “He’s been absolutely steadfast throughout his life of basically saying to me ‘I'm not telling you how I'm voting’
“We talk about politics – he's fascinated by what I'm doing – but it's still a secret. And no matter how much probing I give him he's just not for telling.”
When pressed about if he knew his father voted for the party he leads or if he is in favour of independence Swinney said: “No idea.”
During the show, Robinson also asked the First Minister if he still wanted to make space for the new generation of politicians within the party ahead of the next Scottish Parliament elections.
Swinney confirmed that he would be standing in the next Holyrood elections as he said: “I'm in here for the long haul.
“There'll be a time at some stage in the future when I step down. But it's not any time soon and it's certainly not before the 2026 Holyrood elections.”
Robinson also asked if the Scottish Government is unable to pass its Budget through Holyrood if there would be a snap election.
“It depends on the actions of other political parties,” Swinney said.
“We'll put forward a budget that will be sustainable.
“We’ll engage in a dialogue because we don't have a parliamentary majority. But that puts as much emphasis on other political parties and what they're prepared to support, because I don't think the public in Scotland want to go to any extra election than they’re scheduled to have.”
When asked if his answer was a particular message to the Scottish Greens Swinney said: “It's a message to everybody”.
He added: “There's no hiding place for any political party.
“If we don't have a budget in place on the 1st of April, hospitals can't get the budget, schools can't get the budgets, benefits can't be paid, all sorts of things like that. So all these things follow that will come from a budget that doesn't pass.”
