Scottish First Minister warns against 'playing into hands' of Elon Musk

The First Minister of Scotland has slammed Elon Musk for his “glib solutions” and warned opponents against “playing into the hands” of the tech billionaire.

Ahead of a crucial vote, John Swinney warned blocking the Scottish Government’s draft Budget risks “feeding the forces of anti-politics and populism”.

He urged opposition parties to deliver progress for Scotland by backing the plans set out by finance secretary Shona Robison in December.

With the SNP in a minority administration at Holyrood, Robison and Swinney need at least one other party to back the draft Budget for it to pass.

Swinney warned that blocking the Scottish Government’s draft Budget risks '“'feeding the forces of anti-politics and populism'. — Swinney warned that blocking the Scottish Government’s draft Budget risks ‘“’feeding the forces of anti-politics and populism’. Scottish Government

The First Minister believes the Budget must be passed to ensure Scotland isn’t “playing into the hands” of populist leaders such as Musk.

He said: “What we’ve got to do is work hard, bring people together in a sense of unified purpose to make sure we improve the lives of people in Scotland as a consequence of our actions.

“The first step to doing that in Scotland is the passing of the Budget in 2025. If the Budget doesn’t pass we’re playing right into the hands of Elon Musk and to other populists.

“We’re playing right into their hands because we’re demonstrating or the political system is demonstrating that it can’t address people’s concerns.”

Musk has inserted himself into UK politics in recent days after suggesting safeguarding minister Jess Phillip “deserves to be in prison” for denying requests for the Home Office to lead a public inquiry into child sexual exploitation in Oldham and declaring that Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead Reform UK.

The Twitter/X and Tesla owner is also embroiled in an ongoing feud with Swinney’s predecessor Humza Yousaf.

During unrest in parts of England and Northern Ireland in the summer of 2024, Yousaf referred to Musk as a “race baiter”.

Musk – who has been appointed by US President-elect Donald Trump to head a government department to cut regulation – replied by claiming Yousaf is “obviously super racist against white people”.

Yousaf later accused the billionaire of accessing his private messages as part of a campaign to “besmirch” his reputation.