THE National has obtained the full text of the SNP's conference motion on an independence strategy for 2026.
Titled "Winning Independence" and signed off by First Minister John Swinney and [[SNP]] depute leader Keith Brown (below), the motion says an [[SNP]] majority will be a "clear target" in next year's Holyrood election if a fresh indy push is to succeed.
The text reads: "An SNP majority in that election, repeating the precedent of 2011, is the only uncontested route to delivering a new referendum."
It also pledges support for the "immediate establishment" of a Constitutional Convention, set to involve "gathering support from the people of Scotland, civic bodies and international opinion", as revealed by The National earlier this week.
In July, The National exclusively revealed Swinney's renewed independence plan – based upon building support for leaving the Union, putting pressure on Westminster over its democratic failures around a second referendum, and securing a solid win for the [[SNP]] in 2026.
This week, Swinney set out further that an emphatic win for the SNP would have to be defined as a majority in Holyrood, something very difficult to achieve in a Parliament not designed to produce majorities under a proportionally representative voting system.
The announcement has proved controversial, with other pro-independence parties frustrated that the path to self-determination is being decided by the SNP alone.
Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens said the bid was more about "self-preservation" for Swinney's party, while Alba branded the strategy "cynical".
After Alba chief Kenny MacAskill described the [[SNP]] plan as "unachievable", former [[SNP]] MSP Gil Paterson also chimed in, writing on Twitter/X: "I have no option but to agree entirely with [[Kenny MacAskill]]. The [[SNP]] leadership would be wise to reconsider its position urgently."
Meanwhile around 43 branches of the SNP are backing a challenge to the proposals. They are set to meet in Perth on August 9 to strategise on amendments opposing the requirement for an [[SNP]] majority, with a preference of securing majority support for pro-independence parties on the list vote next year.
Below, you can read Swinney and Brown's conference motion in full.
Winning Independence
Conference agrees that the 2026 Scottish Parliament election will be fought by the Scottish National Party on a clear platform of national independence because only Independence is the change that will significantly improve the lives and life chances of the people of Scotland.
Conference notes that events since the 2014 referendum have only served to confirm the validity of the case that was made then, with people across Scotland continuing to be devastated by a Westminster system that squeezes family incomes, in particular through sky-high energy bills and rising food costs; with Scotland little more than an afterthought within the UK with its economic model that prioritises jobs, wealth and opportunities in London and the south-east, and which delivers a disproportionate benefit for a very few who are already very rich; and with a Britain that has been broken by Brexit, is isolated in Europe, and can never deliver on the hopes, dreams and ambitions of the people of Scotland, who have had seen rights and opportunities they previously enjoyed removed.
Conference further notes that by 2030, one million people in Scotland will be eligible to vote who did not have a say in 2014.
Conference recognises that how Scotland becomes independent matters. That process must be agreed, democratic, constitutional and legal so that our nation gains recognition both at home and abroad. That process must also seek to maximise participation as part of ensuring popular consent.
Taking this into account, conference agrees that a national referendum remains the right way forward.
Conference reaffirms its belief that Scotland delivered a clear, democratic mandate for a referendum at previous elections and deplores the undemocratic stance of successive Labour and Conservative governments in refusing that mandate.
Given that Westminster has consistently refused to accede to the democratically endorsed desire of the Scottish people to decide their future within a Union that is said to be democratic, and voluntary, the people of Scotland must now insist that their democratic wishes and Scotland’s right to self-determination, are respected.
Conference therefore endorses an approach to the SNP’s 2026 campaign designed to deliver a mandate that cannot be contested or rejected, which will include:
• an ambitious, aspirational case for independence focused on the ways independence will significantly improve the lives of the people of Scotland by rejecting the UK’s broken economic system and adopting policies to help people prosper and fund our public services such as the NHS. At the heart of the campaign will be the argument that Scotland’s energy should deliver clear, direct and significant benefits for the people of Scotland. The huge expansion of low-cost renewable generation in Scotland is one of the biggest successes of the [[SNP]] Scottish Government, but, just as Scotland’s oil wealth was squandered by the UK, now UK decisions prevents Scottish consumers, Scottish businesses and potential investors from enjoying the full benefit of that renewable energy wealth.
• a clear and resounding affirmation of Scotland’s national right to choose its own future as part of a campaign designed to mobilise the people of Scotland behind Scotland’s right to choose its own future, with the starting point of the fact that the only previous time a UK Government negotiated an agreed referendum process with the [[Scottish Government]] was when the [[SNP]] won a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament.
• a clear target therefore of repeating the 2011 achievement of securing an SNP majority in the election, with at least 65 SNP MSPs, as the only uncontested way to deliver a new vote on Scotland’s future. We will therefore ask people to vote SNP in the constituency vote to deliver an SNP government and to vote SNP in the regional list to deliver an SNP majority and an independence referendum.
• the immediate establishment of a Scottish Constitutional Convention in order to marshal support for Scotland’s right to decide through gathering support from the people of Scotland, civic bodies and international opinion.
Conference believes that the Scottish election in 2026 offers the people of Scotland a fresh start for our nation; that an SNP majority in that election, repeating the precedent of 2011, is the only uncontested route to delivering a new referendum;
It is essential that, as before, the pro-independence campaign in that referendum should be broad-based and inclusive of the wide range of pro-independence campaigning bodies, representing a cross-section of Scottish society.
Conference believes that independence is our winning argument because the UK status quo will never serve Scotland well and that Westminster has shown it is incapable of delivering the higher living standards people in Scotland deserve; that, as a result, ever more people in Scotland are recognising that it is time for the one change that will actually work, the one change that will put the people of Scotland in charge of Scotland’s future, the one change that will enable Scotland to become the healthier, wealthier and happier nation we know it can and should be: Independence.
John Swinney
Keith Brown
