The Holyrood election in 2026 will be about hope, the First Minister has said, as he pledged that the SNP will be ready to fight it.
By the time Scots go to the polls in 17 months, the SNP will have been in charge of the country for 19 years, with John Swinney in the upper echelons of government for all but one of those years.
Speaking to the PA news agency, the First Minister said his party will have to better highlight its record if it is going to return to government after the election, as well as provide a positive vision for the future, as it comes after a disastrous general election campaign where dozens of SNP MPs lost their seats.
“I think 2026 will be about who offers the country hope,” he said. “And I want to be in a position to offer the country hope.”
Asked how a Government in place for nearly two decades can do that, Mr Swinney said: “We can set out the strength of the record we have and we can set out our ambitions and our aspirations for the future.”
On his party’s record, he said there were “countless examples” of Scotland doing well under the SNP, including stronger GDP (gross domestic product) and housebuilding per capita than other parts of the UK.
But put to him that his opponents will raise the failings of the Scottish Government, including drug and alcohol deaths, homelessness and waiting times in the NHS, the First Minister pointed to the pandemic, Brexit and the austerity agenda of previous Conservative UK governments.
He added: “What we’ve got to do is set out where do we offer hope in our agenda going forward.
“Some of that is about the leadership we offer to the country by demonstrating our absolute commitment to addressing the real concerns of people within Scotland and the priorities that they have, and about ensuring the country is optimistic about its future and how it can be delivered.”
Last month, the SNP announced it was planning to cut 10 of it 26 headquarters staff, opening a voluntary redundancy scheme in an effort to “streamline” its operations ahead of 2026.
Along with the fact the party has not raised any major donations in recent years and has instead relied on membership fees to subsidise running costs, the spectre of financial concerns was raised, although the most recent filings with the Electoral Commission show three donations of more than £200,000 each have been made to the party since July.
But the First Minister pledged to ensure the party would be ready in 17 months’ time.
“We’ve got to concentrate on managing the party’s finances and building up the resources we need for the 2026 election,” he said.
“I’m not concerned about (the SNP’s finances), no, but I am getting the party’s finances strengthened to make sure that we can fight the 2026 election effectively.”
According to recent filings, the party also still owes Peter Murrell, former chief executive and Nicola Sturgeon’s husband, £60,000 on a loan he gave to the party in 2022.
Mr Murrell has subsequently been arrested and charged with alleged embezzlement of party funds.
Mr Swinney repeatedly refused to be drawn on the probe into the use of party funds – which also saw Ms Sturgeon and former treasurer Colin Beattie arrested before being released without charge, pending further investigation.
Along with the news it was cutting staff, the party has also had to contend with controversy around its Westminster leader announcing plans to seek a Holyrood seat while continuing as an MP.
Stephen Flynn would eventually drop the plan after a backlash from inside and outside the party.
Asked if Mr Flynn should make the move to Edinburgh, Mr Swinney said: “The leader of the Scottish National Party leads a democratic party, and I don’t decide on everything.
“So it’s up to my party to decide who its candidates are – I just insist on them being excellent.”
Scottish Tory deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said Scots will be “hoping to see the back of SNP rule in 2026”.
“They will be hoping to see an end to 17 years of failure from the nationalists which has left our public service broken and saddled Scots with the highest taxes in the United Kingdom,” she added.
“Scots are sick and tired of the SNP wasting taxpayers’ time and money on their fringe obsessions rather than addressing the real problems facing them.
“What hope do we have when it looks like they cannot even get their own party finances in order.”
The Scottish Tories under Russell Findlay, she added, are looking to build trust with voters who are “disconnected and just want politicians to speak some common sense for a change”.
