First Minister warns against the rise of Reform UK following strong local election results in England
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has urged Scots to remain “alive” to what he calls the growing political threat posed by Nigel Farage and Reform UK, following the party’s unexpectedly strong showing in the recent local elections in England.
Speaking during a climate-focused event in Glasgow on Friday, Mr Swinney criticised both Labour and the Conservatives for what he described as “cosying up” to Reform, arguing that their failure to confront the party has helped it gain traction across England.
Reform UK won its first mayoral race and secured more than 100 councillors by Friday afternoon. In two other mayoral contests, the party came second to Labour, and it recently overturned a large Labour majority in a Westminster by-election — a result that sent shockwaves through the established political order.
“The results coming in from England demonstrate that Farage is a real political threat,” Mr Swinney said. “The Labour and Conservative parties have made fundamental mistakes in dealing with Farage because they have cosied up to them, rather than confronting them.”
The SNP leader warned that Farage’s brand of politics — rooted in populism and grievance — was not only misleading but also damaging to democratic values.
“The Scottish National Party has every intention of confronting the politics of Farage,” he said. “His politics are populist, deceptive, they give people false hope and they blame others. The SNP will confront those politics head-on.”
Asked whether similar results could be replicated in Scotland in next year’s Holyrood elections, Mr Swinney replied: “We’ve got to be alive to the political threat from Farage. The answer is to confront him – not to cosy up to him.”
Recent polling appears to support his concern. A Survation survey published Friday showed Reform UK polling at 14% for the constituency vote and 12% for the regional list in Holyrood — potentially enough to return over 10 MSPs. The same poll showed the Conservatives on 13% and 16% respectively, while the SNP remained the leading party with 36% on the constituency vote and 28% on the regional list.
Scottish Labour came in at 22% across both ballots, according to the poll, while Reform’s continued rise has prompted renewed scrutiny over the direction of political discourse in Scotland.
Mr Swinney also referenced a summit he chaired last week aimed at tackling the rise of far-right ideologies in Scotland, stating that Reform UK was among the groups being monitored — though the party was not invited to attend.
Reform UK responded to the exclusion by branding Mr Swinney a “democracy denier” and accused him of being afraid of the party’s growing support.
A spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives claimed that the First Minister was deliberately amplifying Reform’s relevance. “John Swinney loves nothing more than talking up Reform at every opportunity,” the spokesperson said. “Polling experts have said that every vote for Reform increases the chances of him being returned as First Minister.”
More Read
They added, “Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up for the common-sense mainstream of Scots, and against the fringe obsessions of the SNP and the other left-wing parties at Holyrood.”
Meanwhile, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie was quick to lay blame for the political polarisation at the feet of both the SNP and the Tories.
“The driving force behind political disenfranchisement and polarisation in Scotland is the failure of the SNP and Tory governments,” she said. “Labour is working to repair the damage the Tories inflicted on our country, but the SNP is still refusing to take responsibility for its mistakes.”
Ms Baillie warned that Reform’s rise was a symptom of widespread disillusionment: “Reform is capitalising on the despair Scots feel over our public services and our economy. As long as the SNP remains in denial, it will fail to turn the tide.”
Reform UK have been approached for comment.
