John Swinney has warned Scots against being “tempted by the simple solutions” offered by parties such as Reform UK.
The Scottish First Minister said he understood why many people in the country were “disaffected” after having “gone through a really hard time over a number of years”.
He said “challenges” facing the country’s democratic systems were coming from a “range of pressures that seek to undermine some of the central values of our society”.
The SNP leader said there were “parts of the argument and the rhetoric of Reform that contribute to that”.
His comments come ahead of a summit on Wednesday, called by Mr Swinney, aimed at tackling the rise of the far-right, which he said included Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
The SNP leader defended not inviting Reform to the event, which he said had been sent out to all of Holyrood’s parliamentary parties.
Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has said he would not go, labelling it a “talking shop”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Sunday Show, Mr Swinney said Reform’s “attitude and approach” to immigration was causing him “enormous concern”.
He told the programme: “I’m reaching out to people in Scotland to say that they shouldn’t be tempted by the simple solutions that are offered by the ideologies that are represented by Reform and others.
“What I am saying is that there is a way for us to strengthen the economic opportunity, the jobs available to people in Scotland, to take the measures to eradicate child poverty, which lie at the heart of my government’s agenda, to improve the National Health Service, so that it delivers for people in Scotland.
“All of that can be achieved within communities that come together, working towards shared values, and that will underpin the discussion and the dialogue that we have at the gathering on Wednesday.”
The First Minister said he was committed to addressing the reasons why Scottish people felt disillusioned.
“I recognise that people are disaffected in society because people have gone through a really hard time over a number of years,” he said.
“I set out in a speech earlier this year the challenges that we faced between austerity, Covid, the invasion of Ukraine, the inflation spike and the consequent erosion of people’s standard of living.
“So I understand entirely why people feel as if they are going through a very challenging period at this time. That’s what my government is focused on addressing.”
Appearing on the same programme, Thomas Kerr – who defected to Reform from the Tories – said Mr Swinney had “overstepped the mark” with the summit, which he said was “absolutely ludicrous”.
But he said while he would have “liked” to have had an invite, he did not think he would have gone.
“I think it’s a real worry when the First Minister of Scotland would use a platform that he has to play politics in the way in which he has in this,” the Glasgow councillor added.
“And it’s taxpayers’ money, I think we need to remember as well, that is being used on this summit to try and hold us.
“I think that it’s a stunt by John Swinney to try and play politics against a political party and his opponents that he doesn’t like.
“But my message to Mr Swinney is: beat us at the ballot box. Don’t try and threaten people and scare people off of voting for Reform.”
Mr Kerr rejected the First Minister’s accusation that Reform was “far-right”, saying that he “deplores racism and far-right rhetoric as much as anyone else”.
