Swinney warns of SNP rebuild delay if leader bid challenged

The front-runner for the SNP leadership has suggested rebuilding the party could be delayed if another candidate enters the race.

John Swinney told BBC Scotland the SNP has not been as cohesive as it should have been and had endured a "rough couple of years".

It comes amid reports that veteran SNP activist Graeme McCormick, who is openly critical of the Scottish government, has collected enough signatures to stand against Mr Swinney.

Mr McCormick, who has declined to speak to the BBC, is thought to have canvassed for support at an independence march in Glasgow on Saturday.

The BBC has approached the SNP for comment. The party would not confirm whether Mr McCormick has secured a nomination.

His plan to challenge Mr Swinney has been reported on social media by SNP members and in various national newspapers.

Mr Swinney, the former deputy first minister and party leader, could be elected within days, with the deadline for candidates to declare at midday on Monday.

Candidates must have 100 nominations from at least 20 local party branches.

Asked whether he would welcome another leadership contest given reports about Mr McCormick, Mr Swinney said: "I think it would be better if we just got on with things, that we started the rebuilding of the SNP and its political strength."

He told The Sunday Show: "We had a lot of strains around a couple of issues in parliament and I think we’ve just had a rough couple of years.

"The party has been engaging but frankly, we've not been as cohesive as we should have been. That's been obvious to the public.

"The SNP has not looked cohesive, the SNP has not looked together – the central point of my message is we’ve got to get ourselves together."

Mr McCormick is a retired lawyer who stood against Mike Russell to become party president in 2023, losing by 599 votes to 79.

He previously argued for abolishing tax and replacing it with an annual rent on land, and that the route to Scottish independence lay through international treaties, with Scotland dissolving the union immediately if the SNP returned the most MPs in Scotland at a general election.

In a speech at the party conference he described the SNP government as being like “flatulence in a trance.”

Mr Swinney is the only declared candidate so far to succeed Humza Yousaf, who announced he would stand down after ending a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.

The abrupt end of the Bute House Agreement came two days after Mr Yousaf said he had no intention of doing so, and left him facing two votes of no confidence.

The move angered the Greens, who had previously criticised the Scottish government for scrapping key climate targets and pausing puberty blockers for under 18s referred by the country's specialist gender clinic.

Last year, Mr Yousaf only secured a narrow win over Kate Forbes in an often fractious SNP leadership contest - despite being Nicola Sturgeon's chosen successor.

Mr Swinney - who secured Kate Forbes' backing and has offered her a "significant" role in his government - said he wants to bring the party together after the last "difficult" leadership election.

He also said he is "physically and mentally ready" for the role, after he decided not to stand in the 2023 leadership contest.

Mr Swinney previously led the party for four years in opposition from 2000 to 2004.

If elected, he said he would seek to govern on a "moderate centre left" platform, and that he would be open to working with any other political party in the parliament to pass legislation.

Last year Mr Swinney told the BBC’s Nicola Sturgeon podcast that he had been trying to stand down from government since 2016.

However he said he had been persuaded to run on this occasion after discussions with his family.

He chose not to run in 2023 as he felt "tired and drained" after a number of years in important roles, but that he was feeling refreshed after a year out of the cabinet.

Mr Swinney said: "I thought it was time for other people to take leading roles… I thought I’d done my bit."

However he said he now had "peace of mind" that running would be the "right thing to do for me and my family, and my party and my country."

The Perthshire North MSP added that he was confident he would deliver independence, and that he would aim to do this through "reasoned conversation".

Scottish Conservative chairman Craig Hoy said it was "laughable" that Mr Swinney wanted to take conflict out of a push for independence.

He said: "Scotland needs a first minister focused on the public’s real priorities – fixing our ailing public services and growing the economy – not one fixated on dividing the nation just to pacify the warring SNP."

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said the SNP were a "divided and chaotic" political party, who had "broken the trust" of Scottish people.

He told The Sunday Show that Mr Swinney was managing his party and its "decline", rather than focusing on the priorities of people in Scotland.

By Jenni Davidson, senior politics reporter

When Kate Forbes announced she would not be running for the SNP leadership, it seemed almost certain that John Swinney was going to be elected as the next SNP leader unopposed.

Now, it looks like there may be a contest, with the decision going to a vote of SNP members.

It’s unlikely that John Swinney will be beaten. He commands huge popular support within the party.

But even if Graeme McCormick won the SNP leadership, he couldn’t become first minister because he isn’t an MSP.

That means someone else would need to lead the party at Holyrood.

Former Green MSP Andy Wightman has suggested that process could simply go ahead this week, with John Swinney elected as first minister even while the SNP leader contest continues.

But it seems unlikely the SNP would risk being seen to disrespect the democratic process by jumping ahead in that way.

So, if Graeme McCormick, does get enough signatures for a nomination, we can expect Humza Yousaf to remain in place as first minister for another three weeks while the SNP leadership contest runs its course.