Findlay likely to reject Swinney’s summit invitation – Daily Business

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay looks like rejecting First Minister John Swinney’s invitation to a summit on deep divisions in politics and the rise of populism.

He has accused Mr Swinney of hypocrisy, saying the SNP is “responsible for sowing division”. In a letter to the Firstr Minister he says that before deciding whether to attend the event Mr Swinney needs to drop his independence campaign.

As he would not agree to that it suggests Mr Findlay is unlikely to accept the invitation to the summit.

Mr Swinney is hosting the event on 23 April to counter the rise of populism and the challenge from parties such as Reform UK.

It aims to bring people from across Scotland’s mainstream together “to protect Scottish values”. At a briefing in February he said it was time to “draw a line in the sand” against “a politics of fear”.

Recent opinion polls suggest that Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, is on course to win seats at the 2026 Holyrood election.

Mr Findlay, who has potentially more to lose from the rise of Reform UK, says in his letter to Mr Swinney that he agrees that the “threat from polarising forces is real”.

However, he adds that “the majority of Scots who support our country’s proud place in the United Kingdom are familiar with the polarising forces of nationalism generally and your party specifically.

“The nationalist movement, which you lead, is responsible for sowing division while seeking to blame others for your government’s many failings.”

Mr Swinney has insisted that the SNP was a “progressive political party that has taken bold action on equalities within our society” and had also “given a welcome to people from other countries who have come to live in Scotland”.

He continued: “Those are the values of the Scottish National Party, they are the values of Scotland, they are my personal values and I want to make sure that they are the values for Scotland for tomorrow, the values that my children, my grandchildren can grow up to experience.”

Letter in full

John Swinney MSP
First Minister
Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Edinburgh
By email: firstminister@gov.scot
14 April 2025

Dear Mr Swinney,

I am writing in response to your letters dated 28 February and 27 March about your planned summit in Glasgow on 23 April.

I agree with your view that the “threat from polarising forces is real”. The majority of Scots who support our country’s proud place in the United Kingdom are familiar with the polarising forces of nationalism generally and your party specifically.

The nationalist movement, which you lead, is responsible for sowing division while seeking to blame others for your government’s many failings.

Women who are fighting to protect their hard-won rights are also familiar with the polarising and dangerous gender ideology being imposed on society by you and your party.

While the four stated aims of your summit are not disagreeable, I have concerns about someinconsistencies and hypocrisy.

Your first aim relates to tackling misinformation. As a former journalist, I value the importance of a strong, independent, and trusted media and despair at your government’s routine and seemingly casual disregard for truthfulness.

You also cite the importance of greater transparency to enhance trust and accountability in politics. However, your government has a long record of being hostile towards transparency with examples including Salmond inquiry secrecy and deletion of Covid-related messages. In addition, SNP politicians who are serially incompetent or dishonest are rarely ever held to account.

Furthermore, you are apparently seeking to counter political division while simultaneously deciding who should and should not be invited to your taxpayer-funded summit, which is inherently divisive.

When asked by the media whether I would attend, I said that I had no inclination to take part in yet another SNP talking shop. I have seen nothing to suggest that this event would be anything more than that.

But before arriving at a final decision on accepting or rejecting your invitation, I request that you make the following commitments which I believe are consistent with the stated purpose of your summit:

● Drop your government’s divisive policy of dismantling the United Kingdom.
● Reverse your government’s divisive imposition of gender self-ID across the public sector.
● Apologise for SNP ministers peddling misinformation, and disinformation.
● Issue an instruction for SNP ministers to stop making false statements in future.

If you cannot agree to these reasonable and common sense requests, the paying public will see your summit for what it is — a politically-motivated and taxpayer-funded talking shop whose real purpose is to generate positive headlines for your government while distracting from its dismal record of failure.

I look forward to your response.

Russell Findlay
Leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party