JOHN Swinney has said it is up to Scots to realise the urgency that is needed for Scotland to become independent, as he said they just need to look at Labour’s “fiasco” first year in power.
The First Minister doubled down on his strategy to secure a second independence referendum, saying winning a majority of SNP MSPs at the next Scottish Parliament election is essential.
Swinney, who is set to bring a motion forward at the SNP’s upcoming conference, told journalists on Thursday that he plans to set out a number of reasons why Scotland should be independent.
When asked by one journalist if his mandate is delusional, the [[SNP]] leader said he would not propose the plan unless he truly believed in it and said Scottish voters just have to look at Westminster to realise Scotland’s best chances going forward would be independent from the UK.
“I believe in it, and I wouldn't put it forward if I didn't, and it's up to the people of Scotland to recognise the urgency,” Swinney said.
“Things are urgent to get Scotland the opportunity to create the most secure future for our country.
“We've tried a Labour government. Look at the fiasco that it is. Look at what it's doing.
“The first action is to take away winter fuel payments from pensioners.
"Second action not to take to lift the two-child gap.
“Look at what they're doing, it is not the way forward for Scotland. Scotland's future is best determined by the people of this country.”
Swinney went on to reiterate his upcoming plans to secure a mandate for a second Scottish referendum after the Holyrood election next year.
He said the [[SNP]] will need to return a majority of MSPs to [[Holyrood]], as they did in 2011 under former party leader and first minister Alex Salmond, where the party returned a landmark 69 MSPs in total.
Recent polling, which doesn’t have the SNP on track for a majority, was pointed out to the First Minister, but he insisted that his strategy was the best way to secure a second referendum.
He said: “I am simply saying to people in Scotland, and there is over 50% of the population in recent opinion polls that support the idea of Scottish independence, that if we want to secure [[Scottish independence]], and I want to, I want to do it as soon as I possibly can do, then the reliable way to do it is what we did in 2011 which is to elect a majority of [[SNP]] MSPs.
“The election takes place in May, and I will be setting out to people in Scotland a number of things around that election, one thing will be to set out the reasons why Scotland should be an independent country.
“I'll be setting out why Scotland should have a right to choose her constitutional future, and I'll do that with energy and enthusiasm right up until polling day in May 2026.”
When pressed that some independence supporters may see his plan as a cynical way to secure as many votes as possible under the guise of a strategy to secure a second referendum, Swinney said that others had tried different approaches which haven’t worked out.
Swinney said: “All I can say is that if people look at the circumstances of the last 15 years, it is clear that the only moment in which there was a referendum on independence followed the election of a majority of the SNP MSPs.
“Other things have been tried, if I can put it as delicately as that, and they haven't worked.
“So, the conclusion for me is to elect a majority of SNP MSPs to the Scottish Parliament and the precedent was established in 2011 that we have the ability to secure a referendum which is the legal necessity for Scotland to be an independent country.
“I'm interested in Scotland becoming an independent country and be able to complete the journey to do so, and it has to do so in a way that will be recognised domestically and internationally as a legitimate and legal state and that's what my strategy is designed to achieve.”
