John Swinney claims SNP still has a mandate for independence - even if they lose the general election

John Swinney on the campaign trail | contributed

John Swinney says his party still has a mandate for independence, even if they don’t win the most seats on Thursday.

The First Minister also said he would work with an incoming Labour government to boost immigration to Scotland after the election.

The SNP’s manifesto says if it wins the majority of Scottish seats on July 4, they could trigger independence talks.

However the polls suggest Labour could take the most Scottish seats, not the SNP.

An exclusive poll in The Scotsman last week suggested the gap between the two parties north of the border is narrowing, but because of the concentration of Labour support in the more populous central belt, they would end up on more seats.

On Sunday Mr Swinney insisted SNP would still have a mandate for independence because they won the 2021 Scottish election.

He said: “I think it is a complex discussion.

“In 2021 the people of Scotland voted to elect a Scottish Parliament committed to delivering a referendum on independence.

“The key thing is that mandate was given and that should be respected and honoured.”

During his interview Mr Swinney also said he would work with an incoming Labour government on increasing immigration to Scotland.

Labour has promised to reduce net migration, tackle illegal trafficking and reform the points-based system for immigration.

However, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie says her party would look at ways to “incentivise” migrants coming to the UK to settle in Scotland.

She admitted the current UK immigration policies aren’t working to address the country’s skills and workforce shortages, and said a new system is needed.

In an interview with The Herald on Sunday she said her party would consider a “Scottish visa” which could give limited powers to Holyrood, in a bid to woo independence voters who are drifting from the SNP.

She said: “We would do what the Tories have not done, which is to marry those two together, because I know there are skills shortages in different parts of the UK, including in Scotland - for instance in the care sector.

“How do we make sure to match our immigration system to skills is something that is very firmly on the agenda at a UK level, and Scotland would benefit from that.

“Given the levels of immigration that there are - and that’s become a hot topic - not many people are ending up in Scotland and we need to understand why that is, and whether there is something we can do to incentivise people to come more to Scotland once they have reached the UK.”

Mr Swinney said he would welcome any plans to use immigration to address worker shortages north of the border, agreeing that the UK immigration policy needs to better recognise Scotland’s needs.

He said: “If it’s an indication of some of the practical steps that might come from inter-governmental relations with an incoming Labour government, then nobody will engage in that more strongly than me.”

This comes after the SNP launched their election battle bus on Friday, with less than a week to go until the polls open.

The First Minister said it was right to leave the launch until so late on in the campaign because it would have been a “waste of money” to have done so earlier.

He also said he needed to concentrate on running the country, given the Scottish Parliament didn’t break up for summer recess until Thursday.

Mr Swinney added: “We need a positive message about what the SNP can do for them.

“That’s what I’m focused on, the really big issues of austerity and the £18 billion tranche of spending cuts coming towards us from a Labour government, which will be elected on Thursday because of the overwhelming number of votes in England.

“That will have a negative impact on the finances of Scotland because they will continue with austerity, which is the last thing we need.”

Stephen Flynn, who is standing in Aberdeen South, also appeared on the Sunday politics shows.

He said: “There is a conspiracy of silence with £18 billion of public sector cuts agreed by Labour and the Conservatives.

“That is a choice they’re making at this election, which we oppose.

“We believe in investment in our public services and the NHS - we need to get away from the race to the bottom in Westminster which has broken the fabric of our society.”

On the back of both Mr Swinney and Mr Flynn’s television appearances on Sunday morning, the Scottish Conservatives urged Scots to vote for them instead of Reform, as that could “risk an SNP win”.

Meghan Gallacher MSP, the party’s deputy leader, said: “John Swinney can try to dupe voters all he wants, but independence is ‘page one, line one’ of the SNP manifesto for a reason.

“He’ll use every SNP MP elected on Thursday to try to split up the UK but, in key seats up and down Scotland, the Scottish Conservatives are ready to beat the nationalists and end their bid for independence for good.

“It will be really tight between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives in key seats across the country, so a vote for any other party - including Reform - risks an SNP win.”