John Swinney wants to ‘press on’ with Scottish independence referendum if SNP wins majority in Holyrood elections

Swinney has claimed there could be another referendum on Scottish independence in 2028 if the Scottish National Party (SNP) wins a majority in next month’s Holyrood elections.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Swinney said his 18-month timeframe was "eminently reasonable" and based on the “experiences and timescales we had before”, citing the timetable set out by former first minister Alex Salmond in the run-up to the 2014 vote.

The SNP party leader said: "We had a referendum in 2014, following an election in 2011, and the expectation was that by 2016 Scotland would be an independent country. So I think that’s all eminently reasonable.”

Asked if there could be a referendum as soon as 2028, Swinney added: “That would be my expectation, because I want to press on with it as quickly as possible.”

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Swinney also told the outlet he had big plans for an "activist government" and economic growth.

Meanwhile, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said the first minister's comments “make it crystal clear that he’s deadly serious about breaking up the UK and it would be naive to think otherwise”.

“From day one of this election campaign he’s put his lifelong independence obsession front and centre," Findlay said.

“I’m hugely concerned that if Swinney achieves a majority, Sir Keir Starmer will meekly capitulate to his referendum demand,” he added.

Although leading Labour UK ministers have previously dismissed SNP calls for a second independence vote, Findlay believes that “Labour are too weak to stand up to Swinney”.

Despite the SNP having lost the four election campaigns fought while Swinney has been leader – for Westminster in 2001, Holyrood in 2003, the European Parliament in 2004 and the 2024 general election – the first minister stressed that “obviously I want to go into this election with the objective of winning it”, adding that his party is “in a very strong position to do so”.

Looking back to when he took over leadership of the party, he said: “When I came in the door in May 2024, the SNP was well behind in the opinion polls and now we’re well ahead. And that’s happened under my leadership.”

However, Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie has slammed the first minister, saying that "no-one buys John Swinney’s flimsy pretence that this election is about independence".

“This is a desperate attempt by John Swinney to avoid talking about the SNP’s shameful record in Government and embarrassing lack of ideas for the future,” she said.

She also accused the Tories of being “happy to play the SNP’s game in a desperate bid to turn back the clocks to a time they were relevant”, adding: “This election is about getting rid of this tired SNP Government, protecting the future of our NHS, delivering opportunities for young people and an economy that works for working people – and only Scottish Labour can deliver that.”