THE SNP must win a majority in the next Holyrood election to trigger a second independence referendum, First Minister John Swinney said today.

Writing in the Daily Record, the SNP leader called for the May 2026 Holyrood elections to be “a springboard for Scotland taking charge of our own destiny.”

Mr Swinney said he campaigned for independence in 2014 because the Westminster system was “broken” and has only worsened since.

“Think what could have been achieved had we not been forced to spend so much time and money trying to mitigate the ongoing damage of Brexit,” he said, adding: “Or the carnage unleashed by Liz Truss’s mini-Budget. Or the years of austerity, or Westminster cuts like the winter fuel payment.”

Mr Swinney will propose a motion at his party’s upcoming conference, arguing that an SNP majority is the key to securing another referendum. 

The position departs from that of former SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, who said that a majority of SNP and Green MSPs would be enough to trigger a vote.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said: “This SNP government has lost its way and run out of ideas — while one in six Scots suffer on an NHS waiting list.

“Despite that, John Swinney can’t end his own obsession with division, and today has confirmed he’ll put Scots second to appease his own party.

“From the crisis in our NHS to the violence in our schools, the SNP has left every institution in Scotland weaker.”