'Farage an accomplice to the Russian agenda' claims John Swinney, urges 'mainstream' to fight 'rise of far right'

26 February 2025, 14:41

Scotland's First Minister, John Swinney, has launched a blistering attack on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, describing him as an "accomplice of and apologist for the Russian agenda".

In the first press conference he's held in his official residence, Bute House, since he became First Minister, Mr Swinney urged "mainstream" political parties to work with him to stop "the threat from the far right" saying that included the Reform party.

And he went on the attack against Mr Farage, accusing him of backing Russia. Previously the Reform leader has expressed admiration for Vladmir Putin and suggested that the West was to blame for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Swinney said: "There is a very alive and active threat to our security from the progression of Russia. And I think Farage is an accomplice to the Russian agenda and an apologist for the Russian agenda.

"So to anybody who in this country who thinks that Farage represents a means of protecting this country from the external threats that we face, I would think I would say, have a good close look at what Farage has been connected with and what his MPs are saying about the Russian threat and their trivialisation of the Russian threat.

"We face a very real threat, that if we don't get right by protecting Ukraine, by protecting the territorial integrity and the dependence and freedom of Ukraine, then I think we will rue the day."

He added: "That's one of the reasons I would say to people in Scotland who might be attracted by the simplicity of the Farage message, that they should look very, very closely at the small print of what that involves.

"And the other thing I would say is that it is crystal clear, that Farage has been for years leading the argument which has been hostile to migration. And I think that is based on a fundamentally racist view of the world.

"I reject that. I think migration is an advantage for Scotland. We have a reducing working age population. We need to attract more working age people to come to live and to work and to contribute in our country and that's an economic necessity for us."

In the wake of his speech, a spokesman for Reform in Scotland rejected Mr Swinney's accusations.

“Once again John Swinney is trying to deflect from the SNPs awful record in government. Scottish people are turning to Reform because we represent real change from the status quo in Holyrood that has failed Scotland for far too long.

“Wanting sensible, controlled immigration isn’t racist, it’s common sense. John Swinney’s inflammatory comments should be seen for what they are - nonsense.

“When it comes to Ukraine, we have been clear - we want Ukraine's long term security guaranteed in any deal and that Putin is a despicable aggressor.”

During his press conference, Mr Swinney said that "mainstream" politicians had a duty to work together to tackle the issues which had left to voters' "anger and frustration" and pointed to the passing of the Scottish Government's budget yesterday as showing that parties could work together, and parliamentary politics could "deliver".

He added: "Storm clouds are gathering. We can all see them. The threat from the far right is real, but that leaves me all the more convinced that working together is not only the right choice, but the only choice."

He said he would launch an initiative in April which would bring together "representatives from civic society, from our churches, our trade unions, from our charities, together with the leaders of Scotland's parliamentary parties. This gathering is a chance to work together for decency, democracy and respect, I will extend an invitation to leaders from all the parliamentary parties and wider civic society to join me in this critical endeavour.

"I want us to work together, to agree a common approach, to ascertain the values of our country, to bring people together and creating a cohesive society where everyone feels at home. These are pivotal moments for our country and for our future. If we are to build trust in our politics, we must deliver public services that work better for the people that we serve, and the budget enables us to do so, but we must do more.

"It is time to come together, to draw a line in the sand, to set out who we are and what we believe in. Because a politics of fear is a politics of despair. It is a politics that will divide us and destroy so much of what we hold dear."

He added: "I want us to be ready for whatever this age of uncertainty throws at us, for us to be united in the face of the undoubted challenges that lie ahead. It is a mobilization of mainstream Scotland that delivered our parliament a quarter of a century ago, and I have no doubt it is by mobilizing mainstream Scotland that we can protect those things that we care about the most, those things that are most important to all of us today."

Asked if by the "far right" he was talking of Nigel Farage's Reform party, which has seen a surge in the opinion polls in Scotland which could see it gain 15 MSPs at next year's Holyrood elections, he said "yes of course".

He went on: "I accept and understand that people are angry. I think what worries me is that some of the some of the response to that anger is to find attractiveness in the politics of Farage and the far right, and I think that's the wrong choice.

"I'm simply making the point that it's important that those of us who are repulsed by the politics of Farage and the far right come together to give leadership and to stress the importance of the values that we hold dear about our society, and to essentially create a political culture, or reinforce a political culture about the fundamental importance of democratic, civic and inclusive values, which are at the heart of the Scotland we live in today, and which have been hard won over many, many years."

Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr, who recently defected from the Scottish Conservatives to Reform, told LBC that Mr Swinney's speech was one of "sheer desperation".

"Standing in the official residence of the leader of our country to attack a political party is gobsmacking, let alone to call for all parties to meet to try and combat us. If Reform ends up with MSPs next year its because the public elected them to be in Holyrood.

"It's our job to rattle cages, ruffle feathers to smash up the old establishment that's existed in Holyrood for so long. It's Reform which is speaking for the mainstream of Scottish politics, we're not going away and John Swinney better get used to it.

"Any party signing up to his desperate roundtable is anti democratic and showing the electorate contempt. We are dragging politics back to where it should be."

When asked by LBC if he shouldered the blame for the frustration of voters, given the SNP has been in power in Scotland for 18 years, he said: "I'm standing here accepting that we've been in office for a long time, and I've been very influential in government activity, and now have the enormous privilege of being First Minister, and I recognise that there is anger in our society.

"People's living standards have been under acute pressure. It's been a really tough time for people, the combination of austerity, Brexit, the COVID pandemic, the cost of living crisis, the inflation spike... it's been an absolute ongoing perfect storm for years.

"At the same time, much has been achieved. So, for example, people are getting a much stronger early learning and childcare offer today, despite the effects of austerity, we've got much more infrastructure in our in our public our public assets in the country, in our transport infrastructure, in housing, in our education system. We've got data which demonstrates that Scotland alone is a country within the United Kingdom likely to experience a decline in child poverty levels compared to increases in other parts.

"So whilst I understand the anger and I accept that I've got to address that and to own that, I would also say to people, there are significant achievements that have been made in the face of that perfect storm which has put enormous strain on individuals within our society and enormous strain on households."

Mr Swinney was also challenged on whether he supported Keir Starmer's decision to increase defence spending by cutting international aid. The First Minister described the move as "short sighted" but agreed that defence spending had to rise.

"I understand the importance the Prime Minister attaches to increasing expenditure to ensure that we can deal with the threats that that we face as a society and but I think the choices that have been made about slashing international aid are the wrong choices.

"I think they are short sighted, because I think if we go back to the foundations of the principles of international aid they are about trying to address some of the fundamental issues about inequality within our world, which if we don't address them through aid will come back to be a challenge and a difficulty for us."

He also rejected the idea that the SNP should change its position on Trident in the wake of insecurity in Europe.

"As I look at the threats that we face just now, I see nuclear weapons providing no tangible or realistic benefit to the military challenges that we face at this moment and are likely to face in the future. And indeed, I think they are an inhibitor because of the resources that they command. So I think there are other choices on defence expenditure to be made.

"I think not renewing the nuclear missile system would enable us to make a broader set of choices than we have, than we are able to make if we commit to renewing and I think the situation we find ourselves in now is such that we need to think very carefully about what the threats are and what is the most effective way to respond."

Asked by LBC if dumping nuclear missiles, as Ukraine did before Russia invaded, was a sensible approach for any country, he added: "Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and it's not had all the security guarantees that I think are necessary in the world today. And, therefore, that to me, that's the answer to the point is to have the necessary security guarantees that will protect a country like Ukraine and this is when I come to the point about what we're dealing with in Russia. Russia has signed up to all sorts of agreements that they have just ignored, dumped, done the opposite of, so there needs to be realistic and substantial security agreements in place."