JOHN Swinney furiously laid into Anas Sarwar over his promises Grangemouth would be saved from closure after the Scottish Labour leader branded his Government “elitist and snooty”.
Sarwar questioned the First Minister about an Audit Scotland report that showed a 20% real terms cut to colleges over the last five years.
He suggested colleges and apprenticeship were “of less value” to the SNP than universities.
To shouts from the SNP benches, Sarwar then went on to ask why “this snooty, elitist SNP Government, refuse to recognise the value of Scotland’s colleges”.
Swinney responded by ripping into his rival over the closure of the Grangemouth oil refinery.
Watch as John Swinney tells Anas Sarwar to 'go home and think again' after the Scottish Labour leader called the SNP government 'snooty' and 'elitist' 👀 pic.twitter.com/7Fc0EGWjdK
— The National (@ScotNational) October 2, 2025
Swinney said: “I’m very proud of my state school education, very proud of it.
“Let’s just take that apart one bit by one bit.
“Tackling inequality, well, this is the only part of the United Kingdom where child poverty is going down because of the leadership of my Government.
“93% of people are going on to positive destinations from our schools.
“And when it comes to big lofty commitments, I stood beside Mr Sarwar when he told me there would be hundreds of millions of pounds to save Grangemouth and Grangemouth got nothing and it’s closed.
“Mr Sarwar should go home and think again.”
Swinney earlier defended the Government’s record saying last year, more than 25,000 people started a modern apprenticeship in Scotland, while a record 39,000 people are now in training including 20,000 aged 16 to 19 – an increase of 2.8% on the previous year.
“We’re investing in the skills of the future and that’s exactly what the Government should do,” said the First Minister.
Earlier on at FMQs, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay was accused of misleading Parliament when he suggested Scottish taxpayers pay more than if they lived elsewhere in the UK.
Swinney was repeatedly interrupted by the Tory benches as he accused Findlay of
Swinney said: “I must correct what Mr Findlay has said. Mr Findlay was wrong.
“Over half of taxpayers in Scotland continue to pay less tax than if they lived elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
“I know it is important that we all speak accurately to Parliament. It’s a duty I faithfully deploy and I’ll also point it out when Mr Findlay misleads Parliament with incorrect information as well.”
Green co-leader Ross Greer also questioned Swinney about four Scots being kidnapped by the Israeli military on Wednesday night after being part of the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Around 500 people were sailing to Gaza on more than 40 boats.
Israel began intercepting the boats after 6.20pm on Wednesday. As of 9am on Thursday, 20 boats are confirmed to have been intercepted, with another 10 assumed to have been.
Greer asked if the First Minister would demand the immediate release of the four kidnapped Scots and contact the Prime Minister to urge him to intervene.
He also pressed Swinney on what new actions he would take to "force an end to this genocide".
Swinney said: "This morning I asked officials from the Scottish Government to seek an update from the FCDO which was forthcoming.
"They've informed us they have lobbied the Israeli government to respect the law and to protect everyone on board's safety and we will keep in close contact with the UK Government regarding the wellbeing of those on the flotilla."
