JOHN Swinney has poured cold water on the idea of a convention of pro-independence parties ahead of the 2026 election, saying his SNP are “just going to go about doing really well politically”.
It comes after SNP depute leader Keith Brown used his speech at the party’s conference last autumn to say that the SNP back an independence convention including “all democratically elected representatives” from Yes-supporting parties.
Brown said that going into 2026, “this convention will unite with every willing element of civic Scotland committed to the principle of self-determination”.
The SNP depute leader was the first speaker at the party’s election campaign launch in Edinburgh on Wednesday, which then saw Swinney talk about bringing independence back onto the agenda and uniting Scotland behind the cause.
The First Minister told the crowd of SNP activists and candidates: “Even in these uncertain times, we know – beyond any doubt – that Scotland has what it takes to be a thriving successful independent nation.
“Over the next 12 months, our ambition must be to unite as many people as possible behind our vision.
“We must reach people from all walks of life, in every corner of Scotland. We must build a winning coalition that is as broad as it is high.
“A year today, I don’t just want to win, I want us to shift the tectonic plates of Scottish politics and create a wave of hope that will overcome Westminster’s wall of despair.
“Friends, we are back on the front foot – so let us take the next steps together.”
Swinney said: “What I've done today is to open up a bigger debate, which is about the fact that people in Scotland are now able to see the way in which the Westminster system operates, not under the stewardship of the Conservatives, but under the stewardship of the Labour Party.
“I think that's going to present to people in Scotland, an answer to a question that people have legitimately wrestled with, which is ‘well, we just need to get a Labour government, we don't need to have independence to change the way in which our circumstances are’.
“I think people are learning very, very, the very hard way that you can change the government in Westminster, but it doesn't change the outcomes for your lives.”
Swinney was then asked about Brown’s speech at the 2024 SNP conference and whether the SNP still planned to pull together a convention of all Yes-supporting parties.
He said: “Well, I don’t think it's necessarily the only way that we need to move forward, but I think that what I want to have is an active conversation with the public about all the issues that I've mapped out to you today.”
Pushed on whether “conversation” would become a convention, as pledged, Swinney said: “It's actually about winning hearts and minds. The key point in my speech was that nothing happens on the constitutional agenda in Scotland unless the SNP does really well.
“And I've set out to you that my ambition in the election is to move the tectonic plates on this issue, and that's what my campaign is about.”
Asked again if the SNP would arrange an independence convention or not, the First Minister said: “Well, we're just going to go about doing really well politically, engaging with the public and shifting the dial.”
Asked if that meant any convention was “off”, Swinney said: “I’ve given you the answer.”
Elsewhere, the First Minister also said that a “democratic majority” of pro-independence MSPs following the next Scottish Parliament election should result in another referendum, though declined to say if he would ask the UK Government for a Section 30 order to hold such a vote.
“We'll perhaps just leave the aftermath of the 2026 election to the aftermath of the 2026 elections,” the SNP leader told the media.
Successive UK governments have refused to grant a Section 30 order, under which Holyrood would be given the power to legislate for a referendum, as happened in 2014.
In 2022, before becoming prime minister, Keir Starmer said he would reject a request for such an order if he was in power.
