Scotland must be an independent nation before Nigel Farage becomes prime minister at the next UK general election, John Swinney said on Saturday.
Speaking at a news conference in Edinburgh, the First Minister said the prospect of Farage leading Reform UK to victory at Westminster in 2029 would have “catastrophic consequences”.
Swinney was speaking a day after the SNP won its fifth consecutive Scottish Parliament election after securing 58 seats at Holyrood.
“It is vital that we unite in Scotland to ensure our parliament is fully Farage-proofed”
John Swinney
“Nigel Farage is now galloping towards Downing Street and the prospect of a Reform-led government is more likely than not,” said Swinney.
“The UK may soon well have a prime minister who is openly hostile to minority groups, who has called for the privatisation of the NHS and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament.
“It is vital that we unite in Scotland to ensure our parliament is fully Farage-proofed. That means having the power before 2029 to decide our own constitutional future without Farage being able to block us.
“The alternative future for Scotland is as an independent country with the greater security and prosperity offered by EU membership and making our vast energy wealth work for the people of Scotland.
“Nigel Farage would be catastrophic as a prime minister for the United Kingdom and the consequences would be devastating for lots of very worried people in our society today.”
The SNP was easily returned as the largest party, but crucially fell short of securing the overall majority he craved in his bid to force a second referendum on Scottish independence.
When all the results were declared – after more than 16 hours of counting – the SNP had 58 MSPs – seven short of a majority and down from the 64 the party won in 2021.
Reform UK, which only had one MSP before the election, was tied with Labour for second place, with 17 MSPs each.
It proved a tough night for Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, as his party lost 22 seats compared with the previous Holyrood election five years ago.
The Scottish Greens, meanwhile, returned 15 MSPs, a record high.
The Tories returned 12 MSPs to the Scottish Parliament – down from 31 at the last election and their worst ever result at Holyrood – with the Scottish Liberal Democrats seeing their total increase to ten.
“The SNP has won the Scottish Parliament election and we have won it emphatically. The people have voted for a government that is on Scotland’s side and they have voted by a landslide for a pro-independence government.
“The significance of this achievement for the SNP cannot be understated – nor was it by any means a certainty. When I became SNP leader two years ago, opinion polls suggested the SNP would win around 35 seats at this election, we were on course to lose this election.
“But we have just won and the margin between the SNP and the two now joint second-largest parties is bigger than at any time in the history of the Scottish Parliament.
“There has now been a pro-independence majority in the Scottish Parliament for four elections in a row. This mandate has been ignored by successive Westminster prime ministers – Labour and Tory – year after year.
“I had hoped in this election that we could break the logjam by securing the only thing that has previously secured a vote, which was an SNP majority. Although we’ve come very close to achieving that, that SNP majority has not been accomplished .
“But that does not change the underlying fact that despite all the attempts to stop us, for the fourth election in a row there is a pro-independence mandate in the new Scottish Parliament.
“Indeed, there are now more pro-independence MSPs than at any time in the history of the Scottish Parliament. The way forward on this must be made in Scotland. The results across the UK made clear why the need for independence is so urgent.
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