John Swinney to convene anti-far right summit in Glasgow

First Minister John Swinney is set to host his anti-far right summit in Glasgow today.

Gathering political, faith and civic leaders together, the group will discuss the causes of rising far-right sentiment being witnessed across the West and how it might affect Scotland.

The summit is set to be attended by opposition party leaders Anas Sarwar, Patrick Harvie, Lorna Slater and Alex Cole-Hamilton.

But Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has refused to attend, dubbing the event a “talking shop”, while representatives of Reform UK were not invited.

Swinney had earlier in the year labelled Nigel Farage’s party “far right”.

Speaking ahead of the summit, the first minister said: “In this age of uncertainty, we see democratic systems across the world under pressure. As first minister, I want Scotland to have strong and supportive communities, where people live in peace, and everyone has the opportunity to flourish.  

“Today’s civic gathering aims to unite political and civic leaders, presenting a vital opportunity to agree a common approach to asserting the values of who we are as Scots, in order to bring people together and create a cohesive society where everyone feels safe and at home.” 

Equalities minister Kaukab Stewart will also attend, as will Alba’s sole MSP Ash Regan and representatives from a number of civic and religious organisations.

Cole-Hamilton, whose Scottish Lib Dems yesterday were recognised as an official grouping in the Scottish Parliament thanks to the defection of Jamie Greene bringing their total to five MSPs, said the “best way to win back many of those who feel disaffected” is to improve public services.

He added: “You persuade no one by labelling them or diminishing how they feel; you need to listen to them and govern well.”

Earlier this week, Sarwar said the SNP had created a more divided Scotland.

He said: “The uncomfortable truth is that the failure of the SNP to provide the public services people rely on and live up to the hopes people put in them has acted as a recruiting sergeant for the rise of divisive politics.”

In response to the invite to the summit, Findlay had urged the first minister to scrap the government’s gender self-identification policies and stop pushing the independence agenda, describing these as drivers of polarisation.

In a second letter, he said: “As you are not prepared to do that, I am therefore left to conclude that this summit is designed to deflect attention from your party’s dismal record and for these reasons I will not be able to attend.”