John Swinney has said he will not step down if he wins next year’s Holyrood election but fails to achieve an SNP majority.
Delegates at the SNP conference backed the First Minister’s independence plans on Saturday, which base the mandate for another vote on independence on an SNP majority at the next election.
Within minutes of the plans passing, SNP depute leader Keith Brown said the First Minister is “staking his premiership on winning independence” – a clear sign he would quit if he failed to win the majority he targets.
But speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show from the Aberdeen conference, Mr Swinney rejected the idea.
“It would be kind of funny if I won the election then resigned,” he said.
“To make progress on the independence question, we’ve got to get 65 seats at the Scottish Parliament, that’s what I’m working to achieve.
“I’m here for the long haul to lead the SNP and deliver for the people of Scotland.”
Later in the same programme, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the UK Government has no intention of approving a referendum, regardless of the result next year.
He compared the First Minister to the “Grand Old Duke of York”, accusing him of “marching his troops in that hall up to the top of the hill and then back down again”.
Mr Alexander said: “Firstly, I’m working for victory, I’m not anticipating defeat.
“Secondly, I’m not going to indulge in his game, which is to divert attention from his horrifically bad record on Scotland’s public services by trying instead to provoke an argument on the constitution.
“I was elected on a very clear manifesto in July 2024 that said Labour does not support independence or another referendum, that’s the mandate on which I was elected, and I’ll adhere to that mandate.”
