Independence is solution to everyday challenges – Swinney

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

John Swinney has said he wants to make sure people see independence as the solution to day-to-day challenges as the SNP launches a new leaflet on the issue.

Scotland’s First Minister said the SNP wants to reach people who do not yet believe in independence as the party seeks to boost confidence and support for the idea.

Just over a decade after the independence referendum, Mr Swinney joined fellow MSPs and campaigners in Glasgow on Saturday for what the SNP describes as a national “day of action” by the party.

Mr Swinney told the PA news agency: “Ten years on from the independence referendum, people are thinking about the future of Scotland, and I want to make sure that message resonates throughout our country.

“So the SNP is embarking on a whole amount of campaigning activity to set out the advantages and the opportunities of independence to the people of Scotland.

“Particularly, I want us to make sure that we reach people who don’t yet believe in independence, as to the future of Scotland, and to make sure we can put those convincing arguments to them and I’m really pleased with the work that the party is now doing, to reach out and to communicate that message to wider audience.”

The leaflet highlights five key things independence supporters say would be different if Scotland was no longer part of the UK, pledging this would result in cheaper energy prices and the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland’s waters.

It also promises that in an independent Scotland the NHS would always be free at the point of use, economic growth would be boosted by no longer being part of a “broken Westminster system” and Scots would always get the government they vote for.

It comes as the SNP seeks to recover from defeat in the 2024 general election, the first poll in Scotland it has lost since 2010, with a result which saw SNP MPs fall in number from 48 in 2019 to just nine.

Asked whether there is much appetite for talk of independence when many people are more concerned about issues such as the cost-of-living crisis and day-to-day challenges, Mr Swinney said an independent Scotland could offer a solution to these.

He said: “My priority is to make sure that independence is viewed as the solution to the day-to-day challenges that people face in their lives.

“So if people are concerned, as I understand that people are, about the cost of living, it’s vital that they see independence as the solution to that particular challenge and that difficulty, so that’s an issue.

“An approach of that type makes independence relevant to the everyday concerns of members of the public within Scotland, and that’s the way in which I think we’ll build confidence and support around independence.”