John Swinney, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP), has announced his willingness to work with an incoming Labour government at Westminster to enhance immigration to Scotland. Speaking on BBC’s The Sunday Show, Swinney expressed his support for any plans that use immigration to address skills and workforce shortages in the region.
Scottish Labour’s deputy leader Jackie Baillie also indicated that her party would explore ways to encourage migrants to settle in Scotland. However, Swinney cautioned that Labour’s stance on immigration south of the border has been “very hostile.” He noted, “Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are on every UK television channel saying they are going to shut the door on immigration.”
Immigration has been a pivotal issue in the current election campaign, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK advocating for reduced migration numbers. Labour has pledged to reduce net migration, combat illegal trafficking, and reform the points-based visa system.
Despite the heated national debate, research shows that immigration is less contentious among Scottish voters. Scotland faces a shrinking proportion of working-age adults, and sectors such as agriculture, care, and hospitality have expressed concerns about staffing shortages.
Four years ago, the Scottish government proposed a pilot scheme for a “Scottish visa” to exempt certain businesses from UK hiring rules for overseas workers, but it was blocked by the Home Office. Swinney welcomed reports that Labour, if elected, might collaborate with the Scottish government to ensure UK policies acknowledge Scotland’s specific needs. He stated, “If it’s an indication of some of the practical steps that might come from inter-governmental relations with an incoming Labour government, then nobody will engage in that more strongly than me.”
Swinney also highlighted the SNP’s historical support for the “fresh talent” initiative, developed by the previous Labour/Lib Dem coalition at Holyrood, which aimed to attract skilled workers to Scotland.
In a wide-ranging interview, Swinney criticized both the Conservatives and Labour for their “conspiracy of silence” regarding the crisis in public finances. He reiterated his claim that Labour would introduce £18 billion in cuts by adhering to the same fiscal rules as the Tories, a claim Labour has denied.
Swinney advocated for Scotland’s higher tax rates for high earners to be implemented across the UK to fund increased public spending. Currently, individuals in Scotland earning below £28,850 pay slightly less tax than those in the rest of the UK, but those earning above that amount pay progressively more.
He also called for more tax powers to be devolved to Holyrood, including the ability to set the VAT rate, which is currently 20%. However, he declined to specify how his government might use that power, stating he did not want to be “boxed in.”
Swinney acknowledged his responsibility for services like the NHS and education, which are devolved to the Scottish Parliament, but stressed the financial constraints imposed by the block grant from the UK government. “I don’t have 100% control over the money that’s raised in Scotland. I’ve got control over part of it – I take responsibility for that and I explain what we do with that. That’s why we’ve increased the tax on higher earners. But there’s a huge wad of the resources that come to us through the block grant that I do not control, and I think it’s only fair that I give the public an explanation that the UK political parties have signed up to an approach that will cut our public spending,” he explained.
On the topic of Scottish independence, Swinney was asked if a Labour victory in Scotland, given their opposition to another referendum, would indicate that the issue should be shelved for the next five years. He described it as a “complex question,” asserting that the 2021 Scottish Parliament election result, which returned a majority of pro-independence MSPs, provided a mandate that “should be honoured.”
Addressing the timing of the SNP campaign bus launch in the final week of the campaign, Swinney dismissed suggestions that it signaled declining party fortunes. He stated that the decision aimed to deliver a final push for votes and that having a campaign bus for the entire campaign period would have been a “waste of money.”
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