SCOTLAND’S First Minister has insisted his party’s goal for independence is “closer” now than in 2014, a decade after the SNP failed to achieve a separate Scottish state.
Speaking on the anniversary of the Scottish independence referendum, which saw 55 per cent in favour of and 85 per cent turnout for remaining in Britain, John Swinney called it a “moment of tremendous significance.”
He added: “I think we are closer to achieving that than we were in 2014.”
Despite his party slumping to just nine MPs at the election, Mr Swinney went on to argued the new Labour government has renewed the case for independence.
He said: “For 10 years — 10 long years — Labour told us we don’t need independence. All we need to do is get rid of the Tories.
“Well, it’s taken [Prime Minister] Keir Starmer less than 10 weeks to completely demolish that argument.
“Labour promised no more austerity, but instead they’re going to intensify it.
“The problem for Scotland is not just an incredibly damaging Westminster Tory government.
“We now have an incredibly damaging Westminster Labour government.”
Taking the opportunity to bemoaning the exit from the EU while renewing her party’s backing for leaving the union, Mr Swinney’s former coalition partner, Scottish Green co-leader Lorna Slater said: “The last decade could have been so different, with Scotland spared the devastating impact of continued Tory rule and a disastrous Brexit that has increased prices, cost jobs and curbed our right to travel.
“The Scottish Greens will do everything we can to ensure that by the time the 20th anniversary of the day comes around, we are celebrating rather than thinking about what could have been, and are doing it in a fairer, greener and independent Scottish republic.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who played as central role in the Better Together campaign, meanwhile rued a “decade of turbulence, division and decline in our politics.”
“Whether it was the Tories at Westminster or the SNP at Holyrood, the sad fact is that the people of Scotland have been failed by their governments,” he said.
“The consequence of this is that every institution in Scotland is now weaker than when the SNP and the Tories came to power.
“I don’t care how people voted in the past — what I care about is the better and fairer Scotland that we can build together.”
