SNP leader convinced party in ‘strong position’ for 2026

To Scotland, where First Minister John Swinney appears to be trying to make a career for himself as a spin doctor. The leader of the Nats has a new tactic to win back support for his beleaguered party – convince voters that, contrary to their daily experiences, his party has actually been, er, ‘formidable’ over the 17 years it has clung onto power in Holyrood. During a trip to Aberdeenshire, the FM also suggested that the SNP’s bad press is down to a lack of ‘appreciation’ of all it has achieved. Pull the other one…

The Nats saw dozens of Westminster MPs ousted at the election – and lost their place as the third largest party in Westminster. Swinney the spinner, however, described the rather catastrophic demise of his group as being a mere ‘setback’ to the SNP, and believes his party remains in a ‘strong position’ for the 2026 Holyrood election.