THE First Minister has warned that Nigel Farage "hates the very idea of Scotland having its own Parliament".
It comes as the Reform UK leader visits Scotland today (Monday), speaking to the press in Aberdeen before heading to Hamilton to campaign ahead of the by-election.
Voters in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse will go to the polls on Thursday June 5 to elect Holyrood’s newest MSP, after the sad passing of SNP minister Christina McKelvie earlier this year.
But now, John Swinney has taken aim at Farage and claimed he hates the idea of Holyrood.
"We all know that Farage wants to turn people against each other. But let’s look at what else he actually believes,” he said in his column for The Daily Record.
"He would like to see Scotland’s budget cut – complaining that too much money is “going over Hadrian’s wall” to pay for free tuition and free prescriptions.
"He hates the very idea of Scotland having its own Parliament. He votes against basic tenets of workers rights – including things we all take for granted, like sick pay.”
Swinney added: "And he wants to charge you for using the NHS by moving to an 'insurance-based system' just like America.
"That is not the record of a man of the people – that is the record of a conman. He is after all responsible for Brexit which has made everyone poorer."
The by-election is expected to be a three-horse race between the SNP, Labour and Reform UK.
"People trusted Labour to sort out the mess the Tories left behind and they have been badly let down,” Swinney said.
"That has opened the door for Nigel Farage to step in and try and portray himself as the defender of ordinary people. But let’s be clear – Nigel Farage does not care about ordinary people. He does not care about you, or your family or your community.
"Nigel Farage is a multimillionaire and only cares about himself and making his rich pals even richer. And he is trying to exploit people’s anger to get them to vote against their own interests.”
