POLITICAL parties are making their final pitches to the people one week before polls open for the Holyrood elections.

Bidding to take the SNP into its fifth consecutive term and a third decade in government, First Minister John Swinney urged voters to back him on tackling the cost of living and locking Reform out of power.

On the campaign trail today, he said: “The SNP wants to bring down people’s bills, and the other parties, led by Reform, want to stop us.

“Reform and the other parties want people to vote for an opposition to stop things from happening – I want people to vote for an SNP government to get things done, bring down the cost of food, reduce the cost of the commute and expand support for childcare.

“That is the choice on the ballot paper one week from today.”

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, election forecaster Professor John Curtice said polling indicated Mr Swinney was on course to return to Bute House, winning around 60 of the 129 seats in play.

“The three governing parties of Scotland (SNP, Labour and the Conservatives), they’re all doing badly this election”, he said.

“But it does mean the SNP have something like a 17-point lead over everybody else.

“If the SNP are indeed anything like that far ahead, and given that their vote is more or less the same from Wick to Stranraer, they’re bound to win the vast bulk of the constituencies.”

Undeterred, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sawar said: “My message to voters is simple: you’ve given the SNP 20 years, give me five.

“Give me five years to fix the mess, get the basics right and build a better future for Scotland.

“And in our first 100 days, we will show exactly what change looks like.

“This election is a straight choice between more SNP failure or change with Scottish Labour.”

Arguing the Scottish Greens offered “real, practical action,” co-leader Gillian Mackay said: “We have already shown the value of voting Green. 

“It was Scottish Green MSPs who introduced free bus travel for young people, scrapped peak rail fares and ended school meal debt.

“We can have a country with free travel, lower bills, better childcare and warmer homes that are cheaper to heat, but only by using the peach ballot to vote for the Scottish Greens.”