How Farage has made clear that voting Reform will help SNP

As John Swinney prepares for his cynical summit on the ‘far-right’ threat, it’s clear the SNP and Reform have a mutual interest in promoting each other

Tomorrow the First Minister John Swinney hosts his “anti-far right” summit, seeking to bring together political leaders and representatives of civic Scotland, with his stated aim of coalescing around what he describes as “shared Scottish values”. It is an attempt by the SNP leader to present himself as a champion of moderate majority, opinion, and the meeting will explicitly exclude representatives of Reform UK, who Swinney believes fall under the “far-right” description.

Political commentators have been quick to point out the cynicism behind Swinney’s move. Reform is more of a threat to both Conservatives and Labour in Scotland than it is to the SNP, and therefore talking up the prospects of Reform at next year’s Holyrood election is decidedly in the First Minister’s interests.

Given that, the Scottish Conservative leader, Russell Findlay, has taken entirely the right decision not to participate in a deeply cynical and overtly political exercise, and it is disappointing that both Anas Sarwar and Alex Cole-Hamilton, representing Labour and the Liberal Democrats respectively, have been suckered into participating.

Nigel Farage retains a Stalin-like grip on control of power within his Reform UK party (Picture: Carl Court) | Getty Images

Bitter divisions over nationalism and gender

Moreover, as Findlay pointed out in his correspondence with Swinney, who exactly is the SNP leader to determine what “Scottish values” are? The party most responsible for sowing division in Scottish society over the last two decades is the one which Swinney leads.

The constant – and ongoing – campaign to break up the United Kingdom has caused more division in Scottish society than any other issue in our recent history, and those of us who lived through the 2014 independence referendum saw the dark forces that were unleashed during it and never want to face that again.

Even now, in the wake of last week’s historic Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman, the SNP are still at it. Asked on numerous occasions whether he agrees or disagrees with the statement that “trans women are women”, Swinney slips and slithers away from giving a clear answer as to what his opinion is, simply saying that he accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment.

The promotion of a policy of gender self-identification, one that Swinney fully endorsed whilst Deputy First Minister, has to rank as one of the most divisive acts of any Scottish Government in the history of devolution. Even now, there is no apology from the SNP leadership for trying to take Scotland down the road of allowing fully intact biological males to access women-only spaces. There has not even been a sorry for allowing the male rapist ‘Isla Bryson’ to enter a women’s prison.

We still live with the consequences of these reckless actions, and the three brave women who front For Women Scotland have had to suffer the most appalling abuse after last week’s court verdict, including threats of disembowelling and decapitation, simply for standing up for their rights. And yet we have not a single word of apology from the SNP for allowing themselves to be captured by a tiny group of extremist trans activists, taking them down a route opposed by the great majority of the Scottish public.

Against this backdrop, who exactly does Swinney think he is to be determining what “Scottish values” constitute? That is why Findlay is correct to refuse to participate in this charade.

Splitting the unionist vote further

It does, of course, suit Reform to be seen as the targets for SNP exclusion. As a populist, anti-establishment party, they will thrive on any publicity that comes their way. They also know that their route to success in next year’s Holyrood election is to take votes away from other pro-UK parties such as Labour and the Conservatives.

It suits the SNP to see the pro-UK vote split still further. Already they benefit from having Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats as opponents; add Reform UK into the mix and it just increases the chances of the SNP emerging from next year’s elections as the largest party, even on a much-reduced vote share.

If that were not bad enough, in a newspaper article at the weekend, Reform leader Nigel Farage made it clear that he would prefer to have the SNP in power at Holyrood rather than back Sarwar to become First Minister. Farage ruled out any form of deal or backing for Scottish Labour.

It is now more clear than ever that a vote for Reform is a vote to help the SNP stay in power, after nearly two decades of disastrous government in Scotland. Despite the protestations from the handful of Reform UK footsoldiers in Scotland, their leader Farage – who controls the party with a Stalin-like grip – has set the policy clearly. Anyone elected as a Reform MSP in 2026 will be more likely to help Swinney stay in office than promote an alternative.

Nationalists in Reform’s ranks

We now have two parties in a symbiotic relationship, with a mutual interest in promoting each other – the SNP and Reform UK. No wonder Swinney’s summit is focussed on the threat of the “far-right”, given he knows it is in his direct personal and party interest for Reform’s prospects in Scotland to be talked up.

We already know that there are senior figures within Reform in Scotland, including some who in the recent past have been parliamentary candidates, who have openly stated that they voted Yes in the 2014 independence referendum. Any pro-UK voter considering backing Reform in next year’s Holyrood election must now do so in the clear knowledge that they will be helping the SNP remain in power, and potentially enabling the campaign for another divisive independence referendum.

Farage has made it clear that a vote for Reform is a vote for five more years of the SNP in power. That is the last thing that Scotland needs.

Murdo Fraser is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Mid-Scotland and Fife