Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

John Swinney goes back to basics in Glenrothes as he spells out his ‘ABCs’

On a campaign stop in Fife, the first minister set out the three messages he'll focus on as he seeks to convince voters to back the SNP.

First Minister John Swinney campaigning in Glenrothes. Image: PA.
First Minister John Swinney campaigning in Glenrothes. Image: PA.

John Swinney arrived to cheering activists in Glenrothes at the weekend as he set out his back to basics message to voters for the general election.

Mr Swinney claimed he’d united his party in the two weeks since he became first minister and SNP leader and was now ready to face the country.

“It’s as simple as ABC: austerity, Brexit and the cost of living,” he said, setting out his key message to voters.

“That’s what the Conservatives have given us. I’m offering the unite the country on an agenda to tackle that.”

Campaigning alongside Glenrothes and Mid Fife candidate John Beare, the first minister told The Courier he would relentlessly focus on the concerns of the public.

He added: “I’m offering to unite the country on an agenda to tackle austerity, Brexit and the cost of living.

“I want to be utterly focussed on the concerns of the public. That’s what I’m bringing in my leadership to the Scottish Government and the leadership I bring to the country.

“When you take that ABC, these are all decisions from Westminster, the product of decisions by the UK Government.

“If we want to do something we have to have the power to address that. Voting SNP is the way to tackle the ABC of problems Westminster has inflicted upon us.”

Meanwhile, Mr Swinney has been caught up in a backlash at his decision to defend SNP colleague Michael Matheson’s behaviour. Mr Matheson had tried to bill the public for his massive iPad roaming bill, run up while his parliamentary device was used to watch football while on a family holiday.

John Swinney with education secretary Jenny Gilruth, a Fife MSP. Image: PA.

John Beare, a veteran SNP councillor in the town, is hoping to secure Glenrothes for the nationalists again as Peter Grant, the current MP, retires from parliament.

The seat is likely to prove a bellwether for the SNP’s support nationally.

After winning a majority of over 11,000 in 2019, insiders agree it would be a disastrous election for the SNP to lose out to Labour’s candidate in Glenrothes, Richard Baker.

John Swinney: Labour will prolong austerity

But Labour remain hopeful as they receive a positive reaction from voters and eye a recent poll by YouGov suggesting the SNP could be wiped out in Fife.

Mr Swinney insisted voters looking to oppose the “problems” inflicted on Scotland should stick with the SNP.

He said Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour would “prolong the austerity agenda of the Conservatives”.

Mr Swinney met activists in Glenrothes. Image: PA.

He added: “On Brexit, it’s very obvious the damage it is doing, but Labour want to do nothing else about it.

“They’ve just turned their back on an option to enable young people to have free movement between the European Union and the UK. It’s utterly foolish.

“That’s why people need to vote SNP so we have MPs like John Beare who can set out Scotland’s agenda at the heart of Westminster.”

Labour candidate Mr Baker said: “John Swinney’s visit to Glenrothes and Mid Fife so early in their campaign shows how worried they are about losing this seat.

“This is because it is the SNP who have failed local people on NHS waiting lists, affordable housing, and access to dentists.”


Read more: 

Conversation