First Minister John Swinney has said the “constant chaos” at Westminster shows the status quo is “rapidly unravelling” as new polling suggests the SNP is within one seat of a majority ahead of May’s Holyrood election.
The More in Common survey places the party close to securing an outright majority, a result Swinney says would open the door to a renewed push for independence.
The First Minister made the comments as he prepares for a weekend of campaigning across Scotland.
He pointed to what he described as steady progress at home, including the opening of the first of 15 GP walk in centres, a deal with resident doctors, the highest GP numbers per head in the UK, a rail fare freeze, the scrapping of peak rail fares and 5 years of the Scottish Child Payment.
At the same time, he argued that the wider UK picture remains troubled, with unemployment at its highest level in 5 years and ongoing political controversy at Westminster.
John Swinney said:
“The stream of chaos and scandal at Westminster, week after week, is not normal but it has become almost routine, that constant chaos is a sure sign that the Westminster status quo is rapidly unravelling.
“People in Scotland, watching the news unfold night after night, know that Britain is broken beyond repair, it cannot and it will not be fixed, it is locked in a cycle that only knows chaos, lurching from economic mess one week to corruption scandal the next.
“Faced with that reality, momentum is once again building behind the knowledge that independence offers the chance to escape a broken Westminster system and a chance to build our own country anew, that momentum means that an SNP majority and that fresh start with independence is now within reach.
“Here in Scotland the SNP has been delivering on the priorities of Scotland from opening our first GP walk in centre to freezing rail fares, but that fundamental concept is now ever present in the minds of Scots, Westminster doesn’t work for Scotland.
“The key question in May is now clear, we can either stay stuck to this broken Westminster system or we can build a future beyond broken, Brexit Britain.
“We can choose a new Scotland through the fresh start of independence.”
With the Holyrood election drawing closer, the argument over Scotland’s constitutional future is once again taking centre stage, framed by one side as a chance for renewal and by others as a debate that never truly left.
