John Swinney has vowed to give “absolutely every fibre of my being” to helping the SNP win a majority of seats in next May’s Scottish elections – insisting that is necessary for a second vote on independence to be held.
He dismissed as “laughable” claims from critics that this strategy for getting a second referendum is “punting” independence “into the long grass”.
However, while opinion polls have the SNP in the lead in the run-up to the crucial Holyrood vote, none has indicated Mr Swinney’s party could win an overall majority.
The Scottish Parliament’s proportional representation system makes it harder for any single party to win more than half of the seats, with only former SNP leader Alex Salmond having achieved this in 2011.
That victory led to the 2014 independence referendum, with Mr Swinney now relying on this “precedent” as he seeks to secure a second vote on Scotland’s place in the UK.
His comments came as he indicated independence supporters are “frustrated” that despite the 2016 and 2021 Holyrood elections both returning majorities of MSPs supporting independence, successive Westminster governments have refused to allow a second ballot to be held.
Mr Swinney, speaking at an event organised by think tank Enlighten in Edinburgh on Tuesday, also noted that while Scots voted to stay in the UK in 2014 there were now “various polls” with a majority for independence.
Pressed on his strategy of using a Holyrood majority to achieve another referendum, the Scottish First Minister insisted that the idea this was “punting it into the long grass is laughable for me”.
Instead, he insisted independence as an “urgent necessity”, claiming decisions by the Labour Government at Westminster will make it harder for him to achieve his “mission” of eradicating child poverty.
However, he insisted he has “got to be realistic” about how a second referendum could be brought about.
Mr Swinney said: “An independent Scotland will only come about if it carries domestic and international legitimacy, ie the rules of how it becomes independent are accepted by all parties.”
He stressed this had been the case in 2014, as he added: “If we want to advance on this issue there has got to be a means of breaking the log jam that we are currently in.
“Two successive elections, the majority of members of the Scottish Parliament supporting holding a referendum on independence and the Westminster government just folds its arms and says ‘no’.”
The First Minister noted that “in 2011, when the SNP won a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament, that led to a referendum in 2014”.
And he added: “If we want independence to happen we have got to rely on that precedent.”
He rejected suggestions from Enlighten director Chris Deerin that returning a majority of SNP MSPs to Holyrood next May was a “bold ambition”, as he called on independence supporters to make the issue a “priority” in that election.
“Then we can turn this into reality,” Mr Swinney said.
Polls currently indicate the SNP could still be the largest party at Holyrood after the next election, but have so far failed to show Mr Swinney’s party winning more than half the 129 seats.
However, Mr Swinney recalled that in the run-up to 2011 election, his party was “miles behind” in the opinion polls but “then we won a majority four months later”.
And he said: “Today, nine months out from the election, I am ahead in the opinion polls.
“When I took over as SNP leader we were behind. I have brought the SNP back into the lead, a commanding lead in the opinion polls, and on the opinion polls today, we still would be the largest party by a country mile in the Scottish Parliament.”
However he insisted: “That’s not good enough for me.
“I have set out what we have got to do to clear a pathway to win Scottish independence and I am going to give absolutely every fibre of my being from now until May 7 next year to make sure it happens.”
