FM to Convene Gathering on Democracy & Respect
First Minister John Swinney will convene a pivotal gathering of Scottish society to work together and unite Scotland against the “increasingly extreme far right”.
Representatives from key organisations across Scotland including churches, trades unions and charities will be invited to attend a gathering in April, alongside the leaders of Scotland’s parliamentary parties.
Speaking at a press conference at Bute House, following the passage of the 2025-26 Budget, the First Minister said the new gathering will be an opportunity renew public trust in politics and unite Scotland in a common cause – “for democracy and respect.”
John Swinney vows to unite Scotland against ‘increasingly extreme and radical right’https://t.co/9rMkXrKtsT
— Politics.co.uk (@Politics_co_uk) February 26, 2025
At the start of the year, I warned that failure to pass the budget would send a signal that Parliament and politics could not deliver. That failure would only serve the interests of an increasingly extreme far right and leave devolution dangerously exposed.
FIRST MINISTER JOHN SWINNEY
But the budget has passed, and a different story can be told. Yesterday’s vote demonstrated that partnership and collaboration are possible. And that is something precious, something vitally important itself.
But we must do more. It is time to come together to draw a line in the sand. To set out who we are and what we believe in.
The threat from the far right is real. But that leaves me all the more convinced that working together is not only the right choice, but the only choice.
That is why I want to share a new initiative to bring Scotland together in common cause. I want us to work together to agree a common approach to asserting the values of our country, to bringing people together and creating a cohesive society where everyone feels at home.
It was a mobilisation of mainstream Scotland that delivered our parliament a quarter of a century ago. And I have no doubt, it is only by mobilising mainstream Scotland that we can protect those things we care most about, those things that are most important to us today.
To counter the rise of the right, we must deliver real, tangible change.
— The SNP (@theSNP) February 26, 2025
Our Budget does that, as @JohnSwinney outlined this morning.
But there’s more we can do – we will unite Civic Scotland to protect what matters most to our country. pic.twitter.com/CYCzI3qtNs
Background
The First Minister will write to all party leaders and the leaders of civic organisations with the details of the upcoming gathering in due course.
A new initiative to bring Scotland together: First Minister’s speech – 26 February 2025 – gov.scot
