The increasingly desperate Scottish National Party has begged its main rivals in Scotland – the Tory party – to attend a summit aimed at stopping Nigel Farage and Reform UK in their tracks. The country’s First Minister and leader of the SNP, John Swinney, has now called on Russell Findlay, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, to “put aside politics” and attend the event, which will take place on Wednesday.
Back in February, John Swinney announced the summit in a bid to “lock out” Reform UK – a party which he claims is far-Right, a label that Nigel Farage and his colleagues have repeatedly denied.
The rising right-wing party recorded its highest-ever level of support in a Scottish poll, a worrying sign for the traditional parties. A shock Survation poll back in March put Reform in third place, ahead of the Scottish Tories but behind the SNP and Labour.
The Scottish Tories, led by Russel Findlay, are coming under pressure from Reform UK (Image: Getty)
The bombshell poll predicted that, if levels of support remain the same over the next year, Reform would win 17% of the constituency vote, and 16% on the regional list – a form of proportional representation in Holyrood – which would ensure the party won a number of seats north of the border in the 2026 crunch vote.
It comes as the Tories, currently the main opposition to the SNP in Scotland, have urged the ruling Nats to drop their push for Scottish Independence, 11 years after Scots voted decisively to remain part of the United Kingdom. Mr Findlay has also called on the Scottish Government to rule out bringing back the gender reforms, which were blocked by Westminster in 2023.
But in a blow to the SNP, Mr Findlay has refused the invitation to the summit, instead initiating a war of words with the First Minister, dismissing the whole thing as a “talking shop”. Mr Findlay added that his party’s unrelenting push for independence “is responsible for sowing division while seeking to blame others for your Government’s many failings”.
The First Minister then accused Mr Findlay of “searching for reasons not to take part”. He said: “The gathering is an opportunity for Scotland to unite behind the common principle that far-right and racist hatred should have no place in Scotland and to agree a common approach to asserting Scotland’s shared values and creating a cohesive society where everyone feels at home.
“I would hope that all parties in Parliament would be able to come together around this basic premise. I hope that you will reflect, put politics aside and agree to take part.”
Defending his decision not to attend, Mr Findlay said a summit was not necessary to agree “racist hatred should have no place in Scotland”, adding: “It is disappointing that you have failed to address my reasonable requests, which are to stop seeking to split up our country, stop pushing gender self-ID policies and give a commitment to being transparent and truthful with the Scottish public.
“These are consistent with your summit’s stated purpose of tackling ‘polarising forces’ in politics. If you wish to unite the country, you should begin by addressing these concerns, which the majority of people across Scotland share.
“As you are not prepared to do that, I am therefore left to conclude that this summit is designed to deflect attention from your party’s dismal record and for these reasons I will not be able to attend.”
