To Scotland, where First Minister John Swinney appears to be trying to make a career for himself as a spin doctor. The leader of the Nats has a new tactic to win back support for his beleaguered party – convince voters that, contrary to their daily experiences, his party has actually been, er, ‘formidable’ over the 17 years it has clung onto power in Holyrood. During a trip to Aberdeenshire, the FM also suggested that the SNP’s bad press is down to a lack of ‘appreciation’ of all it has achieved. Pull the other one…
The Nats saw dozens of Westminster MPs ousted at the election – and lost their place as the third largest party in Westminster. Swinney the spinner, however, described the rather catastrophic demise of his group as being a mere ‘setback’ to the SNP, and believes his party remains in a ‘strong position’ for the 2026 Holyrood election. Good heavens.
Away from fantasyland, Swinney’s former colleagues are not quite as optimistic as the First Minister. In fact, in a growing civil war that looks set to engulf the party, many veteran SNP politicians have called for the FM to stand down. Former deputy leader Jim Sillars has said the nationalist group will ‘not recover’ if Honest John stays put, while health secretary Alex Neil has warned the Nats are headed for ‘another rout’ in 2026 if he doesn’t go. Ex-MP and former party treasurer Douglas Chapman has called for for a ‘fresh start’ without Swinney at the helm, while former Edinburgh politician Joanna Cherry has slammed her party for its ‘problem of misogyny’.
Meanwhile, the SNP has been left with a rather large money problem post-election – as Mr S wrote this month – with less MPs and no donations from, um, living donors coming in. It’s not looking rosy for the secessionists – and if they continue to deny reality, things will only get worse…
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