The UK faces an “absolutely seismic moment”, John Swinney has said, with the prospect of the election in May of first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all of whom are committed to breaking up the union.
Speaking at the Scottish National Party’s campaign conference ahead of the Scottish parliament election, the first minister told delegates: “For people watching around the world, there could not be a clearer sign that Westminster’s time is up.”
With nationalist parties set to win in the Welsh Senedd and Northern Ireland assembly, as well as Holyrood, and with support for Scottish independence consistently around 50% in polls, Swinney said Scotland “can lead this big wave of change”.
Ahead of an SNP campaign during which Swinney pledged to put independence at the forefront, even though that strategy failed in the 2024 general election, he said: “We are closer than ever to becoming independent. Support for our cause has never been at such high and sustained levels.”
Praising the “sense of community” shown by Glaswegians in the hours and days following the devastating fire that destroyed a historic building in the city center last Sunday, Swinney told the conference: “We will support our greatest city in its hour of need.”
He announced a £10m recovery fund to support the council, businesses and agencies and said the Scottish Government would also fund the £1m cost of cleaning up the fire-ravaged site, adding that the money “should not come from the public services Glaswegians depend on”.
Presenting a series of voters’ offers as “building blocks of an independent country,” Swinney also promised that, if re-elected, his government would implement subsidized child care services, based on family income, for every child from nine months to the end of primary school and available for 52 weeks a year.
The SNP leader also said he would create a £100 million First Homes Fund to donate up to £10,000 in deposit support for first-time buyers, to get young people out of the “rental trap” in Scotland and help “a generation let down by Westminster”.
Countering Westminster parties who have criticized his government for speaking out on world events, Swinney told the audience: “We will not stand by silently while the world burns,” before calling on the United States and Israel to end their war against Iran.
“The Iranian regime has terrorized its own population. Now, those same civilians are dying at the hands of American and Israeli bombs. So let me be clear: the unjustifiable actions of the United States and Israel have no basis under international law. They must stop.”
