THE 2026 Holyrood election will be about hope, John Swinney has said, as he pledged that the SNP will be ready to fight it.
By the time Scots go to the polls in 17 months, the SNP will have been in charge of the country for 19 years, with Swinney in the upper echelons of government for all but one of those years.
The First Minister (pictured below) said his party will have to better highlight its record if it is going to return to government in 2026, as well as provide a positive vision for the future.
“And I want to be in a position to offer the country hope.”
Asked how a Government in place for nearly two decades can do that, Swinney said: “We can set out the strength of the record we have and we can set out our ambitions and our aspirations for the future.”
On his party’s record, he said there were “countless examples” of Scotland doing well under the SNP, including stronger GDP (gross domestic product) and housebuilding per capita than other parts of the UK.
But put to him that his opponents will raise the failings of the Scottish Government, including drug and alcohol deaths, homelessness and waiting times in the NHS, the First Minister pointed to the pandemic, Brexit and the austerity agenda of previous Conservative UK governments.
He added: “What we’ve got to do is set out where do we offer hope in our agenda going forward.
“Some of that is about the leadership we offer to the country by demonstrating our absolute commitment to addressing the real concerns of people within Scotland and the priorities that they have, and about ensuring the country is optimistic about its future and how it can be delivered.”
Last month, the SNP announced it was planning to cut 10 of its 26 headquarters staff, opening a voluntary redundancy scheme in an effort to “streamline” its operations ahead of 2026.
Yet Swinney pledged to ensure the party would be ready in 17 months’ time.
“I’m not concerned about [the SNP’s finances], but I am getting the party’s finances strengthened to make sure that we can fight the 2026 election effectively.”
Swinney repeatedly refused to be drawn on the Operation Branchform probe into the use of party funds – which saw the party’s former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, arrested and charged with alleged embezzlement of party funds.
Sturgeon and former treasurer Colin Beattie were also arrested before being released without charge, pending further investigation.
Along with the news it was cutting staff, the party has also had to contend with controversy around its Westminster leader announcing plans to seek a Holyrood seat while continuing as an MP.
Stephen Flynn eventually dropped the plan after a backlash from inside and outside the party, saying he would no longer seek a dual mandate, although it is still understood that he intends to stand as an MSP in 2026.
Asked if Flynn should make the move to Edinburgh, Swinney said: “The leader of the Scottish National Party leads a democratic party, and I don’t decide on everything.
“So it’s up to my party to decide who its candidates are – I just insist on them being excellent.”
