John Swinney is currently one of the most important figures in Scottish politics – he is the First Minister of Scotland (the equivalent of the Prime Minister of the regional government) and the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP).
John Swinney, quoted by “The Harald” newspaper, pointed out that Scotland must become independentbefore Reform UK leader Nigel Farage becomes prime minister in the next general election.
The SNP leader used his victory rally, held less than 24 hours after the Scottish Parliament election results were confirmed, to demand Scotland become “totally Farage-proof”.
John Swinney stressed that his party still had a mandate to carry out second referendum on independenceeven though it failed to gain the majority it claimed was needed to start negotiations.
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“His party is seven seats short of a majority, but combined with a record 15 Scottish Green MPs in Holyrood, there will be more pro-independence politicians in the Scottish Parliament than ever before in the house's history,” says the Herald.
Speaking in Edinburgh, John Swinney highlighted the importance of the so-called “Celtic periphery”, where the largest parties in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are led by nationalist parties for the first time.
He said that if Farage became prime minister he would be “openly hostile” to minorities, and accused the Reform Party leader of wanting to privatize the National Health Service (NHS) and “abolish the Scottish Parliament”.
“This means that before 2029 we must have the right to decide on our constitutional future without Farage being able to block our actions,” he emphasized.
Nigel Farage is a terror in Scotland
Harald recalls that Farage came under fire from unionists last month after saying it would be “perfectly reasonable” to hold another referendum on Scottish independence if the issue became “important” in the future.
Farage said his party opposed the breakup of Britain, but added he could not predict how people would view independence in 20 years.
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Nigel Farage is one of the most influential and controversial British politicians, known primarily as the main architect of Brexit and a long-time leader of anti-EU parties.. For decades he sat in the European Parliament, where he became famous for his sharp, populist speeches aimed at EU institutions and the bureaucracy in Brussels.
He currently leads the Reform UK party and, after years of attempts, sits in the British Parliament as MP for Clacton, remaining a key figure on the right-wing political scene. His activities are based on radical opposition to mass immigration, criticism of climate policy and promotion of British national sovereignty.
