Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay will today accuse John Swinney of pursuing independence at a time when the United Kingdom faces growing international security threats.
Speaking at the Conservative conference in Birmingham on Sunday, Findlay is expected to describe the SNP’s continued push for independence as “dangerously irresponsible” and argue that a divided United Kingdom would benefit hostile states.
His speech will focus heavily on Swinney’s recent meeting in Cardiff with the leaders of Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein, where the parties signed an agreement supporting the right of their respective nations to determine their own constitutional futures.
Findlay will also refer to comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the gathering as he argues that attempts to break up the United Kingdom are being noticed and exploited by hostile governments.
The Scottish Conservative leader is expected to draw on a recent visit to HM Naval Base Clyde at Faslane and a briefing from senior military figures as he makes the case for maintaining the UK’s existing defence arrangements.
He will also accuse the SNP of failing to recognise the importance of Faslane and raise concerns about proposed Chinese investment in a wind turbine manufacturing facility in the Highlands as part of his wider argument about national security.
Findlay is expected to say:
“Since Mr Swinney was a teenager, all he’s cared about is breaking up the United Kingdom.
“Sorry Mr Swinney, and your new friends in Sinn Fein, but we won’t let that happen.
“I’ve been speaking with families who’ve lost loved ones to IRA terrorism.
“They’re angry and upset at Scotland’s First Minister forming a pact with the IRA’s former political wing.
“Let’s not forget that Sinn Fein has never denounced the IRA slaughter of innocent men, women, and children.
“Or the murder of many brave service men and women, including Scottish soldiers.
“Or the bomb they planted at this very conference in 1984, murdering five people including Muriel Maclean, the wife of former Scottish Conservative president Sir Donald Maclean.
“Yet Mr Swinney works with them to destroy the United Kingdom.
“A disgrace.
“Just last week, Putin’s foreign minister was talking up the Cardiff gathering of Swinney, Sinn Fein and Welsh nationalists.
“That tells you everything you need to know.
“A divided UK is a gift to our enemies.
“We already know that many of the most noisy and aggressive Scottish nationalists are in fact Iranian regime bots.
“Furiously tweeting about freedom not from Troon or Twechar but Tehran.
“John Swinney is still backing a proposed Chinese wind turbine factory in the Highlands despite concerns about its threat to national security.
“The importance of our shared strength was brought home to me last week.
“I had the privilege of visiting His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, which is the home of Britain’s nuclear deterrent.
“Faslane, provides thousands of skilled jobs in my west of Scotland constituency.
“When’s the last time any SNP politician championed the men and women at Faslane who keep us all safe?
“Have they ever?
“I also had the privilege of being briefed by senior military figures at the Scottish Parliament.
“The head of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force in Scotland spelled out the reality of the world we are now living in.
“We face grave threats from China, Russia, Iran, and others.
“We are already under attack in cyberspace.
“We face Russian hostility in our waters and Iranian plots on our streets.
“These totalitarian regimes want a divided United Kingdom.
“And we have SNP politicians who share that aim.
“They want to shut down Faslane.
“They oppose Britain’s armed forces.
“In today’s volatile world, relentless SNP agitation about independence is no longer just a dangerous distraction.
“It is now dangerously irresponsible.
“Can you imagine what kind of foreign policy an independent SNP-run Scotland might have?
“One that puts Sinn Fein over IRA victims, Chinese interests over national security and pro-Palestine posturing over the safety of Scotland’s Jews.”
Findlay’s remarks represent a strongly Unionist argument against independence, linking the constitutional debate directly with defence and international security while placing Swinney’s recent cooperation with other pro independence parties at the centre of his attack.
The Cardiff meeting itself brought together the SNP, Plaid Cymru and Sinn Fein as political parties, with their leaders agreeing to cooperate while maintaining that each nation should determine its own constitutional future.
