MAY’S elections are “end of the road for Keir Starmer:” he’ll be gone by Christmas, according to Scottish First Minister John Swinney.

The SNP leader made the remarks on Sky News’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, as polling suggests Labour not only look set to lose control of the Welsh Senedd but also faces a drubbing at Holyrood and in councils across England.

Asked if he thought Sir Keir would see another Christmas at No 10, he said: “No, I don’t. I think it’s patently obvious the Labour Party is absolutely toiling just now.

“The polls in Scotland are encouraging but not certain for the Scottish National Party and working very hard to win the election, so we’ll find ourselves in a situation where there’ll be the potential for a Sinn Fein first minister in Northern Ireland, a Plaid Cymru first minister in Wales, an SNP first minister in Scotland and Reform all over the place in England — and I think that’s the end of the road for Keir Starmer.”

On what he would do if Sir Keir turns down a request for an independence referendum should the SNP win the 65 seats needed for an outright majority in May, Mr Swinney insisted: “Scotland has got a democratic right to decide our own future,” adding: “If I win a majority in the Scottish Parliament elections in May of this year, I don’t think Keir Starmer will be the prime minister.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie responded: “It is John Swinney who will not be in office next Christmas as Scottish Labour is planning to boot him out of office after 19 years of dismal SNP government, which he has been at the heart of.”