Scotland’s First Minister will outline his country’s independence plans today after giving Sir Keir Starmer a dressing-down behind closed doors.
John Swinney will argue that another referendum represents a fresh start for the country at an SNP campaign event today.
He will contend that breaking away from Westminster could raise living standards and distribute the country’s wealth more equitably.
Mr Swinney is also expected to dish out an attack on the Prime Minister – whom he has previously said would be out of a job if the SNP win 2026’s Holyrood election.
The First Minister will suggest Sir Keir could be remembered as a modern-day Margaret Thatcher if he fails to change course on Scotland.
Mr Swinney is expected to say: “Westminster control of Scotland’s resources does not work for us. We see that in their complete failure to support key industries in Scotland.”
The First Minister will reveal he met with the Prime Minister on Friday to convey the severity of the situation.
“I left him in no doubt that, unless he changes course, what we face is a second wave of 80s-style deindustrialisation, 80s-style economic devastation,” he will say.
John Swinney met with the Prime Minister on Friday to convey the severity of the situation
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He will add: “If Keir Starmer does not change course, he will enter our national story as a second Thatcher, a second destroyer of industry, a second destroyer of communities, and Scotland will not forget.”
Then, he will turn his fire on Westminster as “fundamentally broken and beyond repair” in his address.
“A fresh start because with Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands, our nation, our fellow citizens, can finally see the benefit of our vast wealth,” the FM will say.
“We will be better off with independence, better off with Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands,” he will add.
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The First Minister will suggest Sir Keir could be remembered as a modern-day Margaret Thatcher in Scotland
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Scottish Tory MSP Craig Hoy laid into the First Minister last night.
“John Swinney talks about presenting a clear case for independence, something that he has singularly failed to do over nearly two decades in Government,” Mr Hoy blasted.
“The SNP have spent millions and wasted countless months in civil servants’ time on their independence obsession.”
Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie issued a similar attack.
PICTURED: Alex Salmond speaks after Scotland voted against independence in 2014
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“Instead of fixing the damage in our public services, the SNP is once again talking up independence as a distraction from its own failures,” she said.
In 2014, millions of Scots turned out to vote down independence, thwarting efforts to tear the union apart for the first time in more than three centuries.
Since then, aggregate polling has had the “Yes” vote trailing by as wide a margin as 10 percentage points.
However, it eclipsed the “No” vote throughout 2020 – and more recently, it has been rising continuously since the start of 2025.