John Swinney has declared Scotland will be “the only part of the UK” offering a meaningful cost of living guarantee, using his first programme for government as First Minister to stake a sharp political contrast with Labour ahead of critical electoral tests.
Addressing Holyrood on Tuesday, Swinney leaned heavily on the Scottish National Party’s (SNP) existing policies, touting a raft of measures he said no other UK administration could match. These include:
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Free tuition fees and prescriptions
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Free bus travel for the young and elderly
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The UK’s lowest council tax and water bills
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Abolition of peak rail fares from September
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Scottish child payments and free school meals
“This is my cost-of-living guarantee… a package that exists nowhere else in the UK,” said Swinney, seeking to rebrand the SNP as the UK’s only progressive bulwark amid austerity-driven budgets elsewhere.
Few New Policies, Much Old Ground
Despite his confident tone, Swinney unveiled only five new bills—three considered minor—prompting immediate criticism from opposition parties, charities, and unions. They accused the First Minister of prioritising political messaging over substantive policy delivery.
Jamie Livingston, head of Oxfam Scotland, was sharply critical:
“Too quiet on inequality, too soft on polluters, and too slow on change… Scottish ministers are treading water while the storms of poverty, inequality and the climate crisis rage.”
Swinney’s headline pledge to reintroduce the abolition of peak-time train fares—which the government quietly abandoned just eight months ago—was presented as a bold cost-saving measure. But critics noted its limited transport impact the first time around.
Similarly, his promise of 100,000 extra GP appointments for high-risk diseases was seen as a marginal boost compared to NHS Scotland’s vast backlog of over 800,000 patients awaiting treatment.
Sarwar Hits Back: “He Broke It, Now He Wants to Fix It”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar clashed with Swinney in the chamber, accusing him of plagiarism and political decay.
“The truth is they have no plan,” Sarwar said. “After nearly two decades in government, if the SNP had a good idea, they would have delivered it by now.”
Sarwar ridiculed the First Minister for borrowing Labour’s policies while failing to address spiralling homelessness, worsening school attainment, and public sector inefficiencies.
He added, with barbed irony:
“John Swinney has been at the heart of government for nearly two decades. So how can the man who broke it now be the one to pretend he can fix it?”
Re-election Strategy or Governance?
Much of Swinney’s speech appeared tailored to next month’s Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election, where the SNP is under pressure following a slump in recent polls and the resignation of former FM Humza Yousaf.
His focus on continuity over reform may also reflect his short-term leadership, widely viewed as an interim stewardship until after the 2026 Holyrood election.
Still, Swinney was keen to draw battle lines against Labour and Keir Starmer’s Westminster government—painting them as betrayers of progressive values.
“The people of Scotland will be able to look at the contrast between an SNP government that is delivering… and a Labour government that is selling out the poor and the disadvantaged and penalising pensioners.”
He also pointedly praised Welsh Labour First Minister Eluned Morgan for her criticism of Starmer’s budgetary stance—an implicit jab at Sarwar for his silence.
Political Calculations Ahead
Swinney’s programme for government may have lacked surprise, but it solidified the SNP’s strategic pitch: only they can shield Scots from Tory and Labour austerity.
Whether voters agree remains uncertain. Swinney inherits a party fatigued by infighting, declining independence momentum, and a new political landscape where Reform UK, Scottish Labour, and even Alba all seek to redefine the debate.
But in framing himself as the last defender of Scottish fairness, Swinney has chosen his battlefield—and his enemy.
