PA MediaScottish Tory leader Russell Findlay has said he wants to see the SNP out of power at next year’s Holyrood elections for the “collective good of society”.
The Conservative refused to rule out working with other parties to achieve that as he accused John Swinney’s party of being responsible for “gargantuan” waste of public cash while in office.
Having only been elected to Holyrood in 2021, Findlay will be fighting his first election campaign as Scottish Tory leader next year.
Speaking to Holyrood magazine, the former journalist insisted he would “never, ever work with the SNP” – but said it would be “silly to say no” to potential deals with either Labour or the Liberal Democrats.
With the Scottish Parliament elections not taking place until May 2026, the Tory said it would “complete folly for me at this point to start speculating on what that might look like”.
But he also made clear his main aim for next year is to “get the SNP out of power”.
His comments come as polls suggest the SNP, which has been in power at Holyrood since 2007, is on course to remain the largest party.
However, with polls also indicating Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could win a number of seats at the Scottish Parliament, it seems unlikely the SNP will have an overall majority after May’s election.
That surge in support for Reform could see the Tories lose seats at Holyrood, with Findlay’s party – which is currently the main opposition – possibly falling to third or fourth place in the election.
Findlay said he was a “realist” as he accepted he is unlikely to be Scotland’s next first minister.
However, he spoke out about his ambition to oust Swinney from Bute House.
PA MediaThe Tory said: “Despite John Swinney having a spring in his step and this sudden belief that he’s going to hang about for a decade, we need to get them out for the collective good of society, we need to get the SNP out of power.”
On the prospect of a deal with either Scottish Labour or the Liberal Democrats, Findlay said: “If the Lib Dem leader or Anas Sarwar, or whoever it might be, wants to speak to me, it would be silly to say no.”
While he stressed this was “all very speculative”, the Scottish Conservative leader admitted he did “worry” about the country’s prospects if the SNP remain in power.
He said: “I’ve had to live under the SNP for a lot of my adult life, I see the damage they’re doing to the city I live in, Glasgow, and across the entire country.”
He criticised the SNP’s handling of government finances, accusing the party of “gargantuan” waste.
He stated: “The mis-spending in Scotland is utterly ridiculous and I think any serious political party, any credible government, will be able to identify that and do something about it.
“If you gave me 10 minutes in St Andrew’s House, in the filing cabinets, I’d find tens of millions of pounds worth of savings.”
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.
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