Swinney rules out working with Reform on future Scottish budget

Scotland’s First Minister has said determination is “absolutely nary way” helium would enactment with Reform UK to walk a Scottish fund if the enactment wins a raft of MSPs astatine adjacent year’s election.

Nigel Farage’s enactment has seen expanding popularity successful Scotland successful the past year, with a fig of polls suggesting they could nonstop aggregate MSPs to Holyrood successful 2026.

But successful an interrogation with the Scotsman podcast The Steamie, John Swinney expressed his worries implicit a emergence successful “populism” up of the vote, saying helium would not enactment with Reform successful the mode helium has with different parties this twelvemonth to walk his Government’s Budget.

The Conservatives are visually trying to ape Reform to debar being consumed by Reform

John Swinney

He said: “Parties volition person to deliberation astir their absorption to Reform, due to the fact that there’ll beryllium things that Reform volition reason for that there’s nary mode I would enactment them successful a Scottish Government budget.

“So I privation to beryllium arsenic inclusive arsenic I can, but not that inclusive.

“Things person got to beryllium confronted and I deliberation that’s the prime that faces Parliament.”

The Budget – owed for a last ballot adjacent period – volition beryllium backed by the Scottish Greens, the Liberal Democrats and Alba pursuing deals struck with the parties.

Mr Swinney besides accused the Conservatives of shifting further to the close to cater to voters they fearfulness losing to Reform up of adjacent year.

He described the Tories’ thrust to scrap escaped autobus question for asylum seekers precocious past twelvemonth arsenic a “portent of things to come”.

“The Conservatives are visually trying to ape Reform to debar being consumed by Reform,” helium said.

“I deliberation they’re astir to beryllium consumed by Reform, contempt each their efforts to effort to mimic them.

“So I’m a wee spot worried, I’m disquieted astir that.

“I’ve ever viewed this instauration (Parliament) arsenic a gathering spot of radical from each parts of the state to beryllium the existent gathering, inclusive place.

“That’s the benignant of state I privation to unrecorded successful and I interest astir that successful the years to come.”