John Swinney: 'Doom-monger' opponents are 'dull, boring and uninspiring'

For John Swinney, he says his “miserable doom-mongering” opponents and their “dull, boring and uninspiring” campaigns are to blame for this lack of enthusiasm.

In an exclusive interview with The Scotsman, the First Minister also said he intends to lead with a “minority mindset” even if he wins a majority on May 7.

And he thanked US President Donald Trump and King Charles III after US whisky tariffs were removed, and said he would celebrate an SNP victory with a family meal.

Speaking over a slice of Civerino’s pizza on Portobello Beach, Mr Swinney said: “I can’t control the media agenda, but what I can do is make sure that we communicate a vibrant and motivating message to the people of Scotland, and that’s what we have done.

“The bit I can control is giving people a compelling reason to vote for the SNP.

“My rivals are telling voters to vote for them to stop the SNP - it is a dull, boring, uninspiring message with no new ideas. I’ve come out with a host of new ideas.”

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He added: “Every single opponent, with the exception of the Greens, is saying ‘vote for us to stop the SNP’ - these are miserable doom-mongers who don’t give you a reason to vote for them, just a vote against the SNP, and from my point of view they can carry on doing that because it’s not working for them.

“I would say to Labour, the Lib Dems, the Conservatives and others, look at what’s happened to you because you’re not offering something for people to vote for.”

Polls have consistently suggested the SNP will remain the largest party in Scotland after this week’s election, with the question being whether or not they can achieve the elusive 65 seats needed for a majority.

The race to see who will win second place is a bit tighter, with various polls predicting Reform UK, Scottish Labour or the Scottish Greens could take the official opposition slot.

Mr Swinney has outright refused to entertain the idea of doing any coalition deals with Reform UK, and gave a flat “no” when asked if he would do budget negotiations with them.

In the past, Mr Swinney has sought support from the Scottish Lib Dems and Scottish Greens to get his budgets passed.

However, he added: “One thing I want to say, which is important to make clear, is that if I am fortunate enough to be elected with a majority, which I hope is the case, I intend to govern with a minority mindset,

“I won’t just govern knowing I can win every vote, I want to reach out to people and find common ground.

“I recognise there will be good ideas in the other parties, so just because we have a majority doesn’t mean we shouldn’t reach out to others to find common ground.

“Our budget proposals have been enhanced by cross-party agreement, and if I am fortunate to have a majority I don’t want to lose access to that.”

Over the course of the last few days of the election campaign, the SNP is aiming to speak to around 3,500 voters every single day, including stops in the Highlands and in the south of Scotland.

He is hoping this last minute push for votes is what will get him over the 65-seat threshold for an outright majority in the Scottish Parliament.

“I’m going to focus on making sure all parts of the country I need to reach hear my message,” he said.

“We’ve done an extensive amount of travelling around the country - every day that’s available between now and the start of polling day, I will be out touring the country.

“For the last part of the campaign, the SNP is giving very strong reasons why you should vote for us, to get a government on Scotland’s side, improving the NHS, tackling the cost-of-living challenges and giving Scotland a fresh start with independence.”

He said the measures in his manifesto means he expects child poverty “to have fallen significantly because of the measures we’re taking”. When he first became First Minister two years ago, he said eradicating child poverty would be his defining mission.

Mr Swinney hopes the polls will ring true on Thursday and he wins another term in office, and says he would celebrate with some food with his family, but added he will be “absolutely exhausted”.

His interview with The Scotsman came just days after US tariffs on Scotch whisky were dropped - and after a bitter row erupted over who should take credit for it.

Mr Swinney thanked both President Trump and the King for the move, but hit out at the UK Government and Labour Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander.

“First things first, I want to thank the president for lifting tariffs that damaged Scotch whisky,” he said. “The industry wanted to see them removed and I’m pleased they have been.

“I also express my warmest thanks to the King who knew about the issues we were wrestling with on Scotch whisky, so I’m grateful to the King for the contribution he has made.

“When it comes to the rest of it, I’m not that interested in the political spat generated by the secretary of state for Scotland.

“The simple point is Donald Trump came to Scotland and said he didn’t know there was a problem. That says to me that the UK Government was doing absolutely nothing to enlighten the president about these tariffs.

“I had to make this a big issue and when I saw the president in the Oval Office I put forward a proposal that recognised that tariffs were damaging for whisky, depressing the industry, and people were losing their jobs both in Kentucky and Scotland.

“In his decision on Thursday he said the Kentucky-Scotland aspect was the justification for lifting the tariffs, and who put that in front of him? Me.

“The UK Government was not pressing for the case so I will leave people to make their own judgements on this.”