John Swinney: Independence necessary to protect Scotland from Nigel Farage

Independence is necessary to protect Scotland from the likelihood of a Nigel Farage-led government at Westminster, according to John Swinney.  

The first minister is expected to say in a speech at IPPR Scotland that independence will “protect” Scotland from the “worst impacts of Westminster’s lurch to the right”. 

Swinney will also argue that it will allow Scotland to rejoin the European Union, bring down energy bills, and further tackle child poverty.  

He is expected to say: “Today, as I think we can all see, a new threat to so much of what we value is emerging. Therefore, I ask whether the parliament we thought would be our protection is in fact strong enough?  

“That is why we need a parliament with the power not only to change Scotland for the better, but also to protect Scotland from the worst. Because self-government works for Scotland.” 

He will add: “Because the best chance of making the Scotland of tomorrow even better than the Scotland of today is to put Scotland’s future in Scotland’s hands and to choose the fresh start that is EU membership as an independent nation state.” 

It is understood he will also use the speech to draw parallels between the push for devolution and the impact of Thatcherism on Scotland and the “necessity” for independence “in the face of an increasingly extreme Westminster political system”. 

Swinney will say: “There was widespread recognition that the political priorities and the underlying political philosophy that drove Thatcherism, with all the damage it caused to our economy and society, was not what we wanted or needed as a nation. 

“Westminster was taking Scotland in a direction we did not seek and, therefore, a parliament here in Scotland was now necessary to protect us and all that we valued and, more positively, to give us also the opportunity to walk a different path.”