In an interview on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Swinney said he does not think Sir Keir will remain Prime Minister if the SNP win a majority in the Scottish Parliament elections in May. Mr Phillips asked whether if the SNP win a majority he would take that as a “green light” to demand another referendum on independence to which Mr Swinney replied “yes”. Asked what he would do if Sir Keir turns down a request for a referendum, he said: “I think there’s two things about that. “The reason that John Swinney wants to talk about the arguments of the past is that he has absolutely no vision for the future. “Not just that, John Swinney seems to think the SNP just need to do ‘really well’ to focus on the constitution rather than fixing Scotland’s public services.

Source: The Herald January 18, 2026 08:45 UTC