Labour fears playing into hands of Farage and the populist right

According to recent polling Nigel Farage, above, and Reform UK are set to take more seats than the Scottish Conservatives, says Angus Robertson

Speaking at JP Morgan Chase & Co in Glasgow, the First Minister set out how a tailored visa route for students who have completed their studies could help to tackle population challenges in Scotland and grow the economy.

The Scottish Graduate Visa would be linked to a Scottish tax code and be based on a requirement to live and work in Scotland. It would be granted for up to two years and would act as a bridge between study and graduate visas and the Skilled Worker Visa, giving international students an additional two years to gain the professional experience required to qualify for roles on the Skilled Worker Visa route.

As migration is an issue reserved to Westminster, developing and delivering the Scottish Graduate Visa would require the cooperation of the UK Government ahead of it coming into force. This is a sensible idea that will allow us to better staff our public services and plug skills gaps in key sectors. The evidence is incontrovertible. It will help us balance the population decline and ageing population challenges.

But the Labour Government has already rejected this idea. Why? Not because it’s unworkable; after all both Canada and Australia have differentiated migration policies. In truth Labour are concerned by anything that could be presented as “going soft” on immigration and play into the hands of the populist right, led by Nigel Farage.

According to recent polling, Nigel Farage’s party are set to take more seats than the Scottish Conservatives. Those polls suggest the public will vote for the SNP to be the largest party in 2026. For Labour however, polls have shown their only route to power is with the support of Farage supporting MSPs.

Indeed, Farage’s number two, Richard Tice MP, has said his party would vote for Anas Sarwar to become First Minister. While I know many Labour voters will be grossly uncomfortable with that notion, they will also have been just as uncomfortable with the right-leaning direction the Labour Party has taken since ascending to power last summer.

Labour’s austerity agenda has seen winter fuel payments cut (which the SNP are choosing to reinstate), they have dropped support for WASPI women, scrapped their £38 billion green pledge and more. Not to mention that Starmer’s previously vociferous support for the abolishment of tuition fees seems to have disappeared. But not to worry if you are a banker – Labour u-turned on their pledge to cap bonuses and they will be able to earn as much as they like.

In Scotland the choice is clear. A Labour Party dependent on Nigel Farage and his ilk – with their reprehensible views on NHS privatisation, human rights, the environment and beyond – or the SNP; an outward-looking party that will support public services like the NHS, take practical measures to grow the economy and will not throw the vulnerable under the bus when things get tough.

I am certain that the vast majority of people in Scotland do not want Nigel Farage’s party within a mile of power. To keep the Scottish Government Farage-free, vote SNP.

Angus Robertson is SNP MSP for Edinburgh Central and Constitution, External Affairs and Culture Secretary