STV NewsJohn Swinney has vowed to use his first SNP conference since becoming party leader this year to send a message of hope to the Scottish public.
Speaking to STV News ahead of the three-day event in Edinburgh, the First Minister said the SNP membership will also reflect on the General Election campaign following a crushing defeat for the party.
The SNP returned just nine seats earlier this summer, down from 48 in 2019.
Swinney, who will deliver the closing speech on Sunday, sought to set himself apart from Prime Minister Keir Starmer who warned earlier this week that “things will get worse before they get better”.
The First Minister said the public needed a more hopeful message of the future.
But that came after he admitted at least £250m will likely be cut from the Scottish Government’s budget this year to pay for higher than expected public sector pay deals.
He told STV Political Editor Colin Mackay: “What I want the conference to do is set out a hopeful and ambitious message to Scotland about an SNP Government addressing and ending child poverty, tackling net zero, stimulating our economy, improving our public services as a foundation for Scotland becoming a successful, independent country and take that message to the public.”
Asked about whether the public can trust the SNP while the police continue their investigation into the party’s finances, Swinney said he would focus on the public’s priorities.
He said his party had to “work hard” to build trust and confidence with the public.
Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform has been ongoing since 2021 and has led to the arrests of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon, her husband Peter Murrell and former treasurer Colin Beattie last year. They were all released at that time without charge.
Murrell, who was the SNP’s chief executive for decades, was later arrested and charged in connection with embezzlement.
Swinney said: “We have to build the public’s confidence in what we are doing but also crucially bring hope and ambition into our political debate because today a Labour government that has just been elected has promised us that things are going to get worse.
“We’ve got to have more hope and ambition in Scotland and that’s what my leadership will deliver.”
Asked if he was frustrated about Operation Branchform, Swinney refused to comment, saying “these things are out of my hands”.
He added: “It’s an issue that I can’t interfere with or alter and I shouldn’t comment on it.
“What I’m interested in is focusing on the real issues that matter to the people of Scotland.
“That’s what occupies my thinking as First Minister and that’s what the public should expect from me.”
The SNP conference will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre and will hear from deputy party leader Keith Brown on Friday before the party votes on a motion in favour of higher taxes on the wealthy.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn will deliver the keynote speech on Saturday while Swinney will end the conference on Sunday.
Last year’s conference, during Humza Yousaf’s leadership, saw the former first minister announce a surprise council tax freeze, while the party also agreed on its independence strategy for the General Election.
The three-day event comes after the party revealed it lost another 10,000 members.
Around 64,000 people remain activists within the party – around half of the people during the peak of Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership in 2019.
In its accounts with the Electoral Commission, it also revealed that Murrell is still owed £60,000 for a loan he made to the party in 2021.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
