Exclusive:The secret to saving jobs and beating Reform in Scotland, according to SNP's Ian Blackford

The intervention comes after the closing of Grangemouth

The green industrial strategy is the key to saving jobs and beating Reform, leading SNP figure Ian Blackford has claimed.

The former SNP Westminster leader urged ministers in both administrations to develop an “industrial strategy” - something he argued could fix an issue of growth dating back to 2008.

The report, started by Ian Blackford, focuses on how to transform Scotland's economic performance.

Mr Blackford’s comments come as John Swinney prepares to deliver his Programme for Government (PfG) on Tuesday - the First Minister’s legislative agenda for the next 12 months. Mr Swinney has brought forward his PfG – usually announced in September – to allow for a full year before the Holyrood election.

But there is significant pressure on Mr Swinney’s Government to outline a clear economy plan, after the Grangemouth refinery stopped processing crude oil this week and with Scotland and the rest of the UK now dealing with increased 10 per cent tariffs on all exports to the US.

Speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, Mr Blackford praised some of the work done by the UK and Scottish governments, but urged them to go faster and further to fight off Reform UK.

His intervention came just hours before the local elections, which saw Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin beat Sir Keir Starmer’s candidate Karen Shore by six votes in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election. The result meant Reform took a seat that Labour won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than a year ago.

Former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns was separately elected for Reform UK as the first Greater Lincolnshire mayor with a majority of almost 40,000 over her former party.

Mr Blackford said: “I want to give some credit because I know the two [Scottish and UK] governments have been working together, I know the job that [energy minister] Michael Shanks has been doing in the Labour government. I think there has been a recognition that things have to change, the pace of things has to be accelerated, and I can see that in terms of things happening with the grid, with Ofgem, these things are happening.

“But you cannot afford to do anything other than put your foot on the accelerator and do it hard. You can talk about GB Energy, but where is the beef? What is the actual delivery of investment?

“I regret that Labour reversed the £28 billion it was going to invest on a yearly basis. This is the here and now. If you want to make a fundamental difference, if you’re serious about economic growth, you are not going to change it by tinkering at the edges.

“If we don’t move the needle now on economic growth, if we don’t say to investors that we’re open for business, whether it’s Scotland or the UK, we’re going to be in a situation that [Chancellor] Rachel Reeves has later this year, where she’s going to face very difficult choices under budget.

“When you consider the last Conservative government, it was the first government in the post-war period that people were poorer at the end of it. There is a risk that people in the UK are poorer at the end of this Parliament.

“What does that mean? Because a lot of the electorate are going to be questioning whether or not they can put their faith and trust in the mainstream parties. That’s what creates oxygen for people like [Nigel] Farage. Whether you’re the SNP in Scotland or Labour in Westminster, accept your responsibilities of being in government and lead properly.”

It's predicted that Labour candidate Michael Shanks will keep the Rutherglen seat at the next General Election after taking the seat from SNP after the Covid-19 lockdown scandal with Margaret Ferrier. | Contributed

Asked how to combat Reform, Mr Blackford, who is now the SNP’s business ambassador, warned Mr Farage’s party was a threat in Scotland and that ministers must have a “relentless focus on delivery.”

Referencing the promising Holyrood polls for the SNP, Mr Blackford said: “The assumption at the moment is that we would do reasonably, if not very well, in terms of the election, but what I want to do is seal the deal. I want to have a government that's recognised as competent and as delivering for people. We have to listen to what the electorate said to us last year, when people wanted to put faith in the Labour party, but also people were expressing doubts about us.

“It’s up to us to say to the people there are reasons why you can trust us. We have to show them there is a brighter economic future for their children.”

Mr Blackford added: “Whatever the electoral threat of Reform is in the UK, let’s not write them off in Scotland either. We have to understand the reasons why people might support Reform. They are doing it because we are not offering them an alternative. That’s why the industrial strategy is so important, because it comes down to jobs, it’s the basics, it’s leading.”

Mr Blackford, who held the seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 2015 to 2024, also expressed his agreement with warnings from think-tank IPPR Scotland that a US trade deal was less important to growth and jobs than an industrial strategy.

He said: “I fundamentally agree with the IPPR. I am obviously deeply disappointed to say the least with what's happened with Grangemouth, what that means for jobs, and the people that are affected. There has been a problem for the UK, and Scotland within that, and indeed the whole of Europe about delivering economic growth since the financial crisis in 2008.

“If we’re honest, the thing that is required to deal with this is delivering economic growth. For this, we need a proper industrial strategy.

“The thing that frustrates me more than anything else when all the talk is about the just transition, and all the aspects of that and what it means for energy prices, what is missed from that, is the enormous opportunity that there is to deliver green energy.”

There was also a veiled swipe for his replacement as SNP Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, who has announced plans to run for Holyrood. Mr Blackford suggested Mr Flynn would not have run if still in his post, explaining the job was “big enough” already.

He said: “People have to make their own choices. We had a Scottish election in 2021, and one of my MPs did stand with my blessing. For me, it was a privilege of being an MP and to serve my constituents. But also crucially, I saw my role as the leader of the SNP in Westminster to work in tandem with the Scottish Government, and that was a big enough job in itself.

“I think people have to think very carefully about being elected to a Parliament and then turning their back on it, but they have to address those questions themselves.”

The UK government has been approached for comment.