Swinney calls for united Scottish front against right wing extremism - Angus Robertson

First Minister John Swinney holds a press conference at Bute House the day after the Scottish Parliament voted on the Budget

In an appeal to all main-stream parties the head of the Scottish Government says the time has come to cooperate in opposing the likes of Nigel Farage.

The First Minister high-lighted the cross-party work to pass the Scottish Budget at Holyrood as a sign that a different kind of politics is possible:

"I want us to work together to agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country, to bringing people together and creating a cohesive society where everyone feels at home," he said. "Our politics - our parliament - have demonstrated that they work.

"Storm clouds are gathering. We can all see them. The threat from the far right is real, but that leaves me all the more convinced that working together is not only the right choice but the only choice.”

In recent months, the party led by Nigel Farage has taken the lead in UK opinion polls ahead of Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. In Scotland, the SNP retains a significant lead, but Farage’s so-called ‘Reform UK’ party is within one point of the Tories, four points of Labour and has already overtaken the Lib Dems and Scottish Greens. With these sort of polling numbers the Faragists could expect to win a number of list seats at Holyrood.

Already, Farage’s deputy Richard Tice has said that his party would support Anas Sarwar to become First Minister. The Scottish Labour leader has already signalled that he is prepared to work with Farage supporting MSPs on individual issues.

This is dangerous prospect for mainstream Scottish politics and stands in contrast to European countries, most of whom have tried to exclude far-right and populist parties. In France, a ‘cordon sanitaire’ exists for the moderate parties to exclude Marine Le Pen and in Belgium too with the Vlaams Belang party. In Germany, a ‘Brandmauer’ or firewall has been in place for most parties to exclude the Alternative for Germany (AFD). In Austria, a mainstream pro-European government has been sworn in this week which gives the cold shoulder to the Putin-allied Freedom Party.

Sadly far-right parties are now in government in seven European Union countries and making electoral progress in many others. All the more reason for us in Scotland to stand up to the populist snake oil salesman.

Farage is much more than just an extremist when it comes to his support of a hard and damaging Brexit. He has spoken in favour of undermining the NHS with an insurance-based model, like the United States, and has previously said the west "provoked" the war in Ukraine. Farage cares so little about Scotland - it’s not mentioned even once on the party’s policy platform.

The First Minister is quite right to take a stand against extremism and has secured widespread support. Scottish Trades Union Congress general secretary Roz Foyer has welcomed John Swinney's announcement, describing it as “commendable". "The threat of the far right is a real and present danger both in our politics and our communities," she said. "For generations, trade unions have fought against fascism, racism and discrimination both in and outwith the workplace. We will continue that fight”. Hopefully all mainstream parties will work with the SNP