Swinney ‘has his head in the sand’ while support for his party dwindles
JOHN Swinney has been accused of having his ‘head in the sand’ after blaming a lack of ‘cohesion’ for the SNP’s dwindling support in the polls.
The frontrunner to become Humza Yousaf’s successor ignored a series of policy failings and U-turns, as well as the crisis surrounding the police probe into his party’s funding and finances, when describing the cause of its troubles.
Instead, he blamed its current woes on a ‘perception’ that the party is ‘not cohesive’.
He also signalled that the SNP’s main general election strategy on independence will be ripped up yet again by ditching plans to declare a mandate for separation if the Nationalists win a majority of seats.
But he was accused of having the wrong priorities as he set out plans for another new drive to boost support for Scotland leaving the UK.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: ‘John Swinney’s job is to manage his party and manage the decline rather than actually focus on the priorities facing people here in Scotland.
‘We have an NHS where almost one in six Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list – almost 50 per cent of the hip and knee replacements that happen in our country happen privately because of the long waits.
‘You didn’t hear any of that from John Swinney. Instead, you heard it’s a “perception” because “we’re not a cohesive political party”. It is head in the sand stuff.’
Mr Swinney could be confirmed as the next SNP leader when polls close at lunchtime today unless any other candidates have managed to secure enough support to allow a leadership contest.
Asked about the cause of the disunity in the SNP during an interview with the BBC’s The
Sunday Show, Mr Swinney said: ‘I think we had a very difficult leadership election last year, we obviously had a lot of strains around about a number of issues within parliament and I think we’ve basically just had a pretty rough couple of years.’
He said he would try to bring people within the party together, improve internal discussion and get the party to engage more with the public.
He added: ‘We’ve not been as cohesive as we should have been, and that’s been obvious to the public.’
Mr Swinney said the ‘perception’ from recent polling is that ‘the SNP doesn’t look like a cohesive political party now’.
He admitted he had to be persuaded to run for the leadership, citing the need to consider family circumstances such as his wife’s battle against multiple sclerosis.
As he heads a minority government, he said he will seek to win support for some policies and legislation from pro-Union opposition parties.
Mr Swinney also appeared on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News.
Asked if he felt winning a majority of seats would be a mandate for an independence poll, he said: ‘We’ve got to build further support for independence – and independence is supported by more people than supported it in 2014 in the last referendum, but it’s not supported by enough people for it to be a compelling proposition.
‘So what I think our priority has got to be is to spend less time discussing the mechanics and the thresholds of independence, but to start winning the arguments about why independence is an absolute necessity for people in Scotland.’
Scottish Tory chairman Craig Hoy said: ‘Scottish people will be dismayed to hear independence remains John Swinney’s overriding priority.
‘His campaign slogan “uniting for independence” is proof he is doubling down on the SNP’s obsession with breaking up the UK. The reason for this is simple: because it’s the only issue his feuding, scandal-ridden party agrees on.’