SNP’s John Swinney vows to hold on independence push
John Swinney tonight signalled he would continue his push for independence even if the SNP fail to win a majority of Scottish seats at the general election.
With just a fortnight left until polling day on 4 July, the Scottish First Minister was grilled about the SNP’s plans to break up the UK on BBC‘s Question Time.
The SNP’s manifesto states, if they win a majority of the 57 constituencies being contested in Scotland, they will be ’empowered’ to begin independence talks.
But Mr Swinney this evening refused to say if he would abandon his party’s push for independence if the opposite occurred, and the SNP don’t win a majority of seats.
At some moments during the show, members of the audience were seen yawning in front of Mr Swinney, who has reportedly been described by James Bond star Sean Connery as being too boring to be leader.
Audiences watching the programme at home echoed similar criticisms, with one viewer even labelling the SNP leader as ‘the most boring man on the planet’.
With just a fortnight left until polling day on 4 July, Scottish First Minister John Swinney was grilled about the SNP’s plans to break up the UK on BBC’s Question Time
Members of the audience were seen yawning in front of Mr Swinney as he spoke
Audiences watching the programme also said the SNP leader was far from entertaining, with one viewer even labelling the SNP leader as ‘the most boring man on the planet’
During the programme, Mr Swinney hit out at the UK Government at Westminster for failing to agree to the SNP’s demands for another independence referendum.
‘I accept we can’t be an independent country until people vote for us to be an independent country,’ he said.
‘We are not being permitted to put that idea and that concept to the public and we should have the right to do so.’
Recent polls have shown the SNP – who have suffered a meltdown in support in recent months – could fall far short of winning a majority of seats in Scotland.
Latest research by YouGov has shown Labour winning 28 seats, with the SNP falling to just 20 seats and the Tories dropping to five constituencies.
The SNP’s travails saw the party burn through three First Ministers in just 14 months.
Mr Swinney this evening admitted he needs to ‘rebuild trust’ with voters and needed to earn the trust of the Scottish public ‘on an ongoing basis’.
Earlier today, Mr Swinney accused the Conservatives of not caring about the climate as he clashed with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross.
Mr Swinney was grilled by a studio audience and BBC presenter Fiona Bruce in York
Earlier today, Mr Swinney clashed with Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross during First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood
During First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood on Thursday, the SNP leader was challenged on his party’s stance on oil and gas.
The Scottish Government’s current position, as laid out in its draft energy strategy, is that new oil and gas licences – which are approved by the UK Government – should meet a climate compatibility test before being rubber-stamped.
But there have been concerns from environmental activists that the position could be watered down when the final document is published.
Outgoing Scottish Tory leader Mr Ross said the position is ‘temporary’ as he claimed the Government does not support new oil and gas fields in the North Sea.
But the First Minister said: ‘We’ve got a rational and considered process that we’ve argued for, which is that every individual application should be subject to a climate compatibility assessment because there is a journey that we have to make as a country to reach net zero.
‘That is inescapable. What is clear from the position taken by the Prime Minister, supported by Douglas Ross and the Conservatives, is that they don’t care about the journey on climate.
‘They’re not interested in the crisis that we face in the climate emergency, while this Government will take the responsible approach to managing that transition and the challenges of the climate emergency.’
In turn, Mr Ross claimed the Scottish Government and SNP MSPs ‘don’t care’ about jobs in the north east of Scotland supported by the oil and gas sector.
‘Whenever a new development is proposed in the North Sea, the SNP oppose it,’ he said.
‘They oppose every round of new licences granted for the oil and gas sector, in recent years, they have not supported any new fields – not one.
‘Whatever John Swinney is claiming today, it’s only a temporary position for the SNP, because their position is actually very clear.
‘They don’t and will not stand up for Scotland’s oil and gas industry, they are willing to put tens of thousands of jobs and the north-east economy at risk.’
