John Swinney: Russell Findlay is absolutely terrified of his party being consumed by Reform

John Swinney has claimed Russell Findlay is “absolutely terrified of his party being consumed by Reform”.  

The first minister pointed to recent polling which has shown Reform UK has gained significant ground on the Scottish Conservatives, whilst overtaking the party at a UK level. 

At First Minister’s Questions, Findlay raised the new estimated cost of HMP Glasgow, which is almost £1bn, arguing that taxpayers “want every single pound spent on the best possible schools and hospitals – not the best possible prisons”.  

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives said: “This is baffling to people in the real world.  

“Because of their failure to build prisons on time and within budget, the SNP will release thousands of criminals before they have done their time. Police Scotland officers and victims' groups say this will result in more crime.” 

Swinney defended the updated cost of the prison, arguing it is value for money and that the project is “different” to the one first set out to parliament, which was originally estimated to cost £100m.  

The first minister suggested Findlay’s “rhetoric” around the cost of the prison was because of the pressure the Conservatives are under from Reform UK.   

Swinney: “He [Findlay] is absolutely terrified of his party been consumed by Reform, as all the polls suggest, and he is playing into their hands, with every bit of obnoxious rhetoric that he comes out with today.” 

In September a Scottish Conservative source told Holyrood that they were shocked that Reform came from nowhere in Scotland, with little profile, with no visits by Nigel Farage, and with no real campaign, to rival them.   

Polling undertaken by Redfield & Wilton last month suggested Reform could achieve 13 seats at the Scottish Parliament election next year, while the Conservatives could see its seats slashed from 31 to 17.    

A YouGov poll published this week suggested that Reform has the most support than any UK party, showing its support to be at 25 per cent, ahead of Labour by one point and the Tories by four.