John Swinney criticises Keir Starmer’s immigration stance at independence launch
John Swinney has said he is “appalled” by Keir Starmer’s rhetoric on immigration.
The first minister made the comments as he launched the SNP’s renewed plan to achieve an independence referendum, alongside a new government independence paper.
Swinney told party members in Edinburgh this morning that “the language in Westminster around immigration and asylum” over the summer has been “utterly chilling”.
Asked directly if he would associate the prime minister with those comments, he said he does.
Swinney said: “I’m appalled the prime minister basically is toadying along behind Nigel Farage.”
He cited politicians calling for mass deportations and demanding that the UK removes itself from international human rights treaties, describing this as “dreadful”.
This comes after comments made by Farage last week, where he said a Reform government would be prepared to deport 600,000 migrants.
He added: “No one seems to be ringing the alarm bell. Well, I am.
“Let us join together and say that our Saltire is a flag of welcome, and refugees are welcome here in Scotland.”
Making the case for an independence referendum after the Scottish Parliament election, Swinney told the audience there “can be no doubt that Westminster is making people’s lives worse”.
He said: “Years of flatlining living standards have taken a toll. Our answer as a party and a government is to work even harder to give real ground for hope for a better future and a better Scotland.”
Swinney told party members that a majority of SNP MSPs at the next Scottish election will be enough for his party to make the case to Westminster for another referendum, making a distinction between a majority of pro-independence parties at Holyrood.
In the new paper, called Your Right to Decide, it states the 2011 election, in which the SNP secured a majority of MSPs, had shown “that it is for the people of Scotland to decide when a referendum is to be held, and that when they do it is for the governments of Scotland and the United Kingdom to take the steps required to facilitate that”.
The party is set to agree on its independence strategy at the annual party conference next month in Aberdeen.
With successive UK Governments arguing that the referendum in 2014 was “a once in a generation” event, Swinney made the case that in the 11 years since the last time Scotland voted on independence over 1 million new voters are now eligible.
“That seems like a generation to me,” he said.
Swinney added: “I think what we have to do to break the logjam is to repeat what we achieved in 2011 and make sure the UK Government has no answer to escaping from the precedent that was established in 2011.”
He was also asked about Starmer’s comments at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, where he said that he was “perplexed that the first minister has not welcomed” the £10bn deal to build the Norwegian navy at least five ships at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyard.
However, Swinney had already welcomed the deal earlier this week in comments made to the media.
He told journalists: “Politicians should be accurate in what they say, and the prime minister was completely inaccurate in what he said in attacking me in the House of Commons yesterday.”
Swinney added: “And if he wants a respectable relationship with the Scottish Government he should go to the House of Commons and apologise for what he said.”
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