Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has launched a fierce attack on First Minister John Swinney, accusing him of misleading the Scottish National Party's own supporters over the prospect of securing a Holyrood majority at next year's election.
Majority Target for Independence Vote
The political row centres on Mr Swinney's stated aim of winning a majority of SNP MSPs in the May 2026 Scottish Parliament election. The First Minister has argued that such a majority should grant Scotland the powers to hold another independence referendum, mirroring the situation before the 2014 vote. However, Holyrood's proportional electoral system is specifically designed to make outright majorities difficult, encouraging cooperation between parties.
In an interview with the Press Association, Mr Sarwar, who is himself campaigning to become First Minister, dismissed the SNP's ambition as fantasy. "John Swinney is duping his own membership, his own supporters and his own candidates," he stated bluntly.
Sarwar's Scornful Comparison
The Labour leader drew a pointed comparison with former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's tenure. "If Nicola Sturgeon, when the SNP were up above 50% in the opinion polls, when her approval ratings were at plus 58%, when she was claiming to be Mother Teresa, couldn't win a majority, the idea that this guy... is somehow pretending that he is going to energise the masses and win a majority government in Scotland is for the birds," Sarwar said.
He characterised Mr Swinney as "low energy, no ideas John Swinney" and claimed that recent challenges for UK Labour had made the SNP government "complacent and arrogant." Sarwar predicted the First Minister would be "utterly exposed" once the campaign focuses on the Scottish Government's record.
Framing the 2026 Election Battle
Mr Sarwar declined to be drawn on whether an SNP majority should trigger a referendum, simply reiterating: "John Swinney is not going to win a majority, he's not going to be First Minister after May." He has consistently worked to separate the upcoming Scottish election from the record of the UK Labour government, emphasising that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are not standing for First Minister.
"The two people credibly standing to be First Minister are me and John Swinney," he asserted. Sarwar urged voters to base their decision on devolved issues like schools, hospitals, and local services, rather than using the vote as a protest against Westminster. "I'm going to make this election about Scotland," he pledged.
In response, First Minister John Swinney defended his government's performance, pointing to falling NHS waiting lists and child poverty at its lowest level in Scotland for 30 years. "We've got the ideas, the energy, the commitment, the drive and the vision to deliver a better Scotland," he told PA, setting the stage for a highly contested election campaign.
