THE SNP must turn public support for Scottish independence into “real political action”, John Swinney has said.
The First Minister said he would put building support for independence at the “heart” of his party’s 2026 Holyrood manifesto, as he also hinted at a possible cabinet reshuffle.
It comes after the latest polling put support for Scottish independence at 54%, and even higher if Nigel Farage and Reform UK took power in Westminster.
Following the SNP’s loss to Labour in the Hamilton, Larkhall, and Stonehouse by-election, the First Minister was quizzed about anger within the Yes movement that he had not “done enough” to promote the cause of independence since he took over the leadership of the SNP.
Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show, Swinney was asked if he was alert to the displeasure of activists over his strategy for independence.
“Of course, I hear that, I listened very carefully to all that is said in political debate in Scotland, particularly debate amongst those who share my objective of winning Scottish independence,” he said.
“When I became First Minister a year ago we were in a very difficult situation, as demonstrated by the poor election result that we got last summer, and I had to rebuild our position so that we could get a hearing from the public within Scotland, and I've been doing that by trying to improve the performance of the Scottish Government on delivering on the priorities of the people.
"I focused our agenda directly on the concerns of the public in Scotland.”
Swinney insisted it was “always” a part of his plan to set out “where the hope comes from” in politics, and that this is from Scottish independence.
He added: “Because all the challenges we face in society today, whether it's about Brexit or about an immigration policy that from the UK government is going to be disastrous for the Scottish economy, or the spike in energy prices are all a product of Westminster decision making.
Asked what the SNP will be putting in their Holyrood 2026 manifesto in regards to independence, such as a bid for a new referendum and what would equate a mandate for Scottish independence, Swinney said: “What should be in our manifesto is the arguments why Scotland should be an independent country, and how we can build the future of our country based on the opportunities of independence.
“Fundamentally, Scotland will only become independent when the people of Scotland want that to be the case.
“And we saw in the course of the last few weeks, strengthening of the opinion poll position in favor of Scottish independence.”
Martin Geissler pointed out that while support for independence was high, the SNP had recently lost the Hamilton by-election, with less than 30% of the vote.
“That's exactly the point I was coming on to,” Swinney replied.
“My challenge is to make sure that we can turn that aspiration in the public for Scottish independence into a real political action to make sure it happens.
“And that comes about by the SNP performing much better, of getting into a commanding position in Scottish politics, and making sure that we can deliver on the expectations and aspirations of the people of Scotland.
“That's what I'm focused on, about making the argument, because if we make the argument and build support for Scottish independence, I think it is absolutely impossible to stand in the way of the democratic will of the people of Scotland if they want Scotland to be independent, and that will be at the heart of the thinking that I bring to the SNP manifesto in 2026.”
Swinney also hinted that there could be a reshuffle on the horizon for Scottish Government ministers. Noting that Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Mairi McAllan, is due to return from maternity leave, he would “have a look at the team” in “due course”.
The First Minister also defended his tactics of calling out Reform in the Hamilton by-election instead of focussing on Labour as the SNP’s main rival.
We previously told how party activists said they were shut down by SNP HQ for questioning the strategy.
Swinney told the BBC that Labour’s vote was collapsing while Reform support was “surging”.
“I said to people the best way to do that was to vote SNP, to stop Farage, because the Labour vote was collapsing on its performance last year, and it did," he said.
