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John Swinney, Scotland’s first minister, on Sunday urged members of the Scottish National party to “awaken optimism” and unite for independence as he accused Labour of delivering the “same damaging austerity as the Tories”.
In the closing address of the SNP’s annual conference, Swinney sought to galvanise the party faithful ahead of the May 2026 Holyrood elections after an “incredibly tough night” at the July 4 general election, when Scotland’s governing party shrank from 48 seats to nine in the House of Commons.
“It falls on us — the national party of Scotland — to awaken that sense of optimism and hope among our fellow Scots,” he said at the conference in Edinburgh.
With momentum on the side of Labour after its landslide UK victory, Swinney, head of the devolved government since May, called for his party to become a professional, modern, dynamic election-winning grouping. “That is what I am going to deliver so we win in 2026,” he said.
In what he said would go down as an “era defining moment”, Swinney accused Labour of delivering the “same damaging austerity as the Tories” and pushing tens of thousands of children into poverty by keeping the two-child cap on benefits.
He also said Labour had failed to deliver its promise of reducing energy bills, with 900,000 pensioners in Scotland losing their winter fuel payment after UK chancellor Rachel Reeves restricted eligibility.
“Labour should be ashamed to show either of their two faces in Scotland ever again,” he said.
Swinney, a party veteran who previously led the SNP between 2000 and 2004, said he would “earn a right to be heard” by delivering on the public’s priorities.
Linking the daily concerns of voters with the need for greater autonomy outside the UK would “lead our country to a more hopeful and optimistic future with independence”, he added.
The SNP in recent years has been criticised for focusing on fringe issues and internal divisions, especially during its previous power sharing deal with the Greens, whose collapse triggered the resignation of Swinney’s predecessor Humza Yousaf.
“I don’t want our party looking inwards — I want us to look outwards . . . serving the people of Scotland,” he said.
On Wednesday, Swinney will introduce his programme for government at Holyrood, a blueprint for the SNP’s legislative focus for this parliamentary year.
He said it would include measures to “tailor support better to families”, and pledged that his ministers would secure more inward investment to grow the economy and create a fairer society.
Swinney backed the SNP’s record in government, pointing to expanded provision of childcare, free tuition fees with more tertiary students coming from deprived backgrounds and keeping 100,000 of children out of poverty because of the Scottish Child Payment.
Jackie Baillie, deputy leader of Scottish Labour, accused Swinney of dodging responsibility for longer NHS waiting lists and a stagnant economy.
“It was a copy paste speech from a first minister out of ideas and more focused on holding together his divided party than facing up to the challenges Scots face,” she said.