John Swinney says bad election result would not affect independence mandate

JOHN Swinney has said the SNP’s mandate for independence negotiations would not be invalidated if his party loses seats in the General Election.

A pro-independence majority supporting indyref2 was returned at the last Holyrood election in 2021. 

Since then, the SNP's strategy – agreed at last year’s conference – states that winning a majority of Scottish seats at Westminster would trigger talks with the UK government to give “democratic effect” to independence.

However, opinion polls have consistently indicated the SNP could lose a swathe of seats to Labour.

But Swinney has insisted pushing for indyref2 will still be his “number one ask” if Keir Starmer becomes prime minister and believes a bad result on July 4 will not invalidate the mandate.

In an interview with the Daily Record ahead of Wednesday’s SNP manifesto launch, the First Minister insisted his party will have a mandate regardless of what happens.

Asked what would happen if the SNP fell back to 20 seats, he said: “I think the mandate of the Scottish Parliament should be respected. That’s a democratic point.”

Asked if his mandate would be invalidated by a bad result, he said: “No, it wouldn’t because that [the mandate] exists. That is the will of the Scottish Parliament.”

The SNP will launch their manifesto in Edinburgh today which they have promised will include independence on “page one, line one”.

(Image: NQ)

It will also set out plans for “an end to Westminster cuts” and investment in the NHS.

Swinney will call for the next UK government to increase NHS spending by a minimum of £10 billion extra each year to improve performance – generating an additional £1bn annually for NHS Scotland.

The manifesto will also demand that the UK government invests at least £6bn in additional funding to match Scotland’s most recent pay deals for NHS staff – delivering around £600 million in consequentials which Scotland could invest in NHS staff numbers, pay, and conditions.

This would mean a total additional investment of £16bn for the NHS – generating a total of £1.6bn for the NHS in Scotland.