John Swinney: We must ‘start focusing again’ on what Scotland can do

Scotland must “start focusing again on the things that we can” do, First Minister John Swinney has said as he marks a decade since the independence referendum.

Labelling the last ten years as a “long, dark decade”, Swinney is to tell a group of independence campaigners that the referendum left an “overwhelmingly positive legacy”.

But he will call for a “reawakening” of the optimism felt in the lead-up to the 2014 vote.

The Scottish independence referendum took place on 18 September 2014, resulting in 55 per cent of the population voting to stay in the United Kingdom.

Polling in the years since has shown little shift in public opinion on the question of independence, with both Yes and No having the backing of roughly half the country when excluding ‘Don’t Knows’.

The first minister will address a group of SNP activists in central Edinburgh on Wednesday morning.

He will hail a “sense of empowerment” among grassroots activists that persists ten years on.

He will say: “We have had a long, dark decade – a decade of austerity, of Brexit, of a cost-of-living crisis and a global pandemic.

“As a nation, we can’t just regret the things that we cannot do – it is time for us to start focusing again on the things that we can. And that is exactly what we are going to do.

“It starts by reawakening the sense of optimism, of hope and of possibility that was so prevalent throughout Scotland in 2014. We must lead by example, and we will.” 

MSPs at the Scottish Parliament will take part in a government-led debate on Wednesday afternoon titled “Creating a Modern, Diverse, Dynamic Scotland”. That will be followed by a members debate, led by Green co-leader Lorna Slater, reflecting on the referendum.

Slater will argue that independence remains necessary to achieving a “fairer, greener” Scotland.

Commenting on the anniversary, she said: “The need for independence is still clear to me. It is about empowering our communities and building a future that represents the hopes and values of the people of Scotland.

“There are so many crucial policy areas where Scotland simply doesn’t have the powers that we need to make the changes that are so vital. When it comes to wages, working conditions, fossil fuel exploitation and basic public spending, we are constantly having to defer to a Westminster government that has let us down time and again.

“I believe that Scotland should be a democratic republic with the chance to make the big decisions for ourselves. On this anniversary, we can pause to think and reflect on the opportunity that we lost in 2014 and the Scotland we want to see.”

But Scottish Labour said the recent general election proved Scotland is “ready for change” after ten years of focusing on the constitutional question.

Leader Anas Sarwar said the last decade had been marked by “turbulence, division and decline in our politics”.

He added: “Whether it was the Tories at Westminster or the SNP at Holyrood, the sad fact is that the people of Scotland have been failed by their governments. The consequence of this is that every institution in Scotland is now weaker than when the SNP and the Tories came to power.

“After almost two decades of Tory and SNP failure, Scotland voted decisively for change on the 4 July by delivering 37 Scottish Labour MPs. We now have a chance clear up the mess that was left by the Tories and in 2026 we hope to have the opportunity to begin the work of clearing up the mess left by the SNP.”

The Lib Dems also reflected in the recent election result. Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said the result “showed that people wanted to move on from the divisions of the past”.

He added: “Just like the Conservatives at the last election, the SNP have been in power for too long, breaking rules and taking people for granted. They deserve the same fate.”

The Scottish Conservatives earlier said that it was “time for the SNP to end a decade of division and finally let Scotland heal”.

Party chairman Craig Hoy said: “Scotland has been stuck in a state of paralysis for 10 years precisely because the SNP have refused to accept the result. They have failed to move on and focus on the day job.”