John Swinney: 'Scotland should have Northern Ireland-style trigger for independence referendum'

John Swinney has vented his frustration at UK ministers being open to a trigger point for an Irish border poll, but not Scottish independence.

Speaking to the Holyrood Sources podcast, the First Minister warned the constitution returning to the forefront of Scottish politics was reliant on SNP success at the ballot box.

First Minister John Swinney Photo credit: Jeff Mitchell/PA Wire

Last year, Mr Swinney appealed for the independence campaign to focus on making the case for separation rather than obsessing over the route to breaking up the Union.

The Scottish Government’s mechanism for independence has hit a roadblock since losing a Supreme Court case when judges ruled Holyrood could not hold a referendum, while the UK government has denied repeated calls for a re-run of the 2014 poll.

READ MORE: John Swinney calls on SNP to stop focus on route to independence ten years after Yes campaign defeat

Before the general election Labour backed criteria being established that would trigger an Irish border poll. But Keir Starmer’s government has gone quiet on the issue since sweeping to power, with Northern Ireland minister Fleur Anderson suggested a poll was “not a priority”.

Speaking on the podcast alongside Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Mr Swinney pointed to an acceptance that an Irish border poll could take place under set out circumstances, but no such acceptance exists for Scottish independence.

He stressed that “ultimately, in a democracy, Westminster cannot stand in the way of the people of Scotland determining their own future”.

Mr Swinney said: “If you take in the context of Northern Ireland, for example, there is an accepted point that there is a route by which this issue is addressed.

“If there is an acceptance that there is a route by which this can be addressed for Northern Ireland, there has to be an acceptance of a route for Scotland - that cannot be resisted. That is just a logical, democratic consistency that cannot be sustained.”

The First Minister stressed his was “not pontificating about the route”, but reiterated “that cannot be accepted in Northern Ireland and somehow automatically rejected” for Scotland.

Mr Swinney said “the hard reality of life” was that “nothing ever happens on the constitutional question unless the SNP is doing really well”.

He said: “We’ve got to get people to buy into an inspiring vision of independence and see voting SNP as the means to catalyse that and to make it happen.

“These are issues that we’ve got to consider about how we progress, but fundamentally it will only come when there is political impetus behind the campaign for independence.

“You will only deny democracy if you are not prepared to embrace what we now see as growing levels of support for Scottish independence as expressed in a consistent set of polls at a higher level that’s been the case for a considerable amount of time.”

The First Minister suggested independence “will only come about, whatever discussion we have about routes and process, when there’s an emphatic desire for Scottish independence”.

He said: “We inspire people to believe in that concept of independence and why that will have a transformative affect on our lives.

“That’s got to be at the heart of how we promote the arguments for independence, how we use those international comparisons, how we demonstrate good governance within Scotland, how we show people that there are many good things that can be done in Scotland and there are many more things that could be done that are good for Scotland if we had the powers of independence.”