closed this Monday the 91st annual congress of the Scottish National Party with a call for independence, which it defined as “the fresh start” Scotland needs in the face of “populism and inequality” in the United Kingdom.
“The time has come for Scotland to become independent.” Swinney proclaimed to delegates in Aberdeen (northeast Scotland): “This is a decisive moment; we all face a choice: decline with Westminster or hope and ambition with self-government.”
The nationalist leader combined political messages with personal reflections in an intervention aimed at consolidating his leadership after a year of internal turbulence and loss of support against Keir Starmer’s Labor Party in the 2024 general election. Since then, he has managed to stabilize the party, while support for Labor weakens and the right-wing populist formation Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, threatens to fragment the unionist vote.
“Labour and the Conservatives They are caught in a race to the right that only Nigel Farage will win. “Fear of Farage is driving Westminster to increasingly extreme positions,” he warned.
“Westminster doesn’t work for Scotland; self-government does”
On Saturday, SNP delegates They supported his plan to consider a new independence mandate if the party obtains the majority of seats in the regional elections of May 7, 2026. a historic referendum in which 55% of Scots voted to continue in the UK.
The Scottish leader denounced the “moral and political crisis” of the United Kingdom and accused Prime Minister Keir Starmer of “dressing up” as Nigel Farage after abandoning promised progressive policies.
In this sense, he announced that the Scottish Government will provide visas to hundreds of care workers from whom London has withdrawn work permits, “so they can work and pay taxes in Scotland”, and went on to say, “Refugees are welcome here.”
The nationalist leader also defended the recent publication of the document ‘A Fresh Start with Independence’, which offers “a detailed roadmap” towards independence and future reintegration into the European Union. “The United Kingdom is sinking into Brexit pessimism, inequality and populism. Scotland needs a new beginning (…) Every day we must be stronger and more committed, because together we will win Scottish independence,” concluded Swinney.
