John Swinney has vowed to remain Scotland's First Minister (Image: Getty)
John Swinney has vowed to stay on as Scotland's First Minister even if the SNP is hammered in the General Election as opinion polls suggest. Mr Swinney said he intends to lead his party into the Holyrood election in 2026.
The Scottish leader told the BBC he took the reins of the SNP to bring his party and country together, adding: "I committed to do that for the long term. I committed to that task, to take my party well beyond the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections, and that’s exactly what I intend to do."
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Mr Swinney said if his party manages to win at least 29 of Scotland's 57 seats at this election, it would provide a mandate for negotiations with the UK Government over the holding of a referendum on Scottish independence.
He refused to discuss not winning the number needed, despite facing repeated questions from reporters about what would happen if his party lost the poll on Thursday.
The First Minister was commenting while campaigning on Monday (July 1) in the north-east of Scotland with candidate Seamus Logan - who is fighting for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat against Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross.
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Stephen Flynn says there's a 'conspiracy of silence' about cuts (Image: Getty)
Before his visit, Mr Swinney said: "The result of the election in England is a foregone conclusion - Keir Starmer is going to be Prime Minister and he is going to carry on with the same broken politics and right-wing policies as the Tories.
"The only story left in this election is here in Scotland, where the result is on a knife-edge and where there is a real contest of ideas and values."
His claim is contradicted by the majority of polls, the most recent of which suggests the Nats will lose 30 seats in what would be a disastrous result for the fraught party.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said on Tuesday (July 2) he agreed Mr Swinney's assessment that the election result is "too close to call".
He told BBC Breakfast: "In vast swathes of Scotland it's very much up for grabs as to who is going to win this election. In that context, what we were hoping is that voters vote for what it is they believe in."
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Mr Flynn added that whether it's the Conservative Party or the Labour Party there's "a conspiracy of silence" on ￡18billion worth of cuts which he said are coming down the line, citing a figure from the Institute of Fiscal Studies.
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He said: "We need to reject that austerity. We need to see a return to the European single market. We need to see increased migration to boost our public services and of course our business sector.
"We need to see investment in net zero. We need to see Scotland's right to choose. We need to see a ceasefire in Gaza and the recognition of the Palestinian state.
"These are the key issues at this election, that is where the SNP stands. Those are the values that we have. Those are the issues that we believe in and hopefully over the course of the next 48 hours voters will put their faith in us."
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