The First Minister said he still plans to hold a vote on a Section 30 order after the SNP‘s emphatic victory in the Holyrood election, although the party didn’t achieve a majority.

During the Holyrood campaign, Swinney repeatedly said he would bring forward a vote on the first day of the next Scottish Parliament term.

He also said the question would be the same as during the 2014 referendum and that the SNP would publish a draft referendum bill within the first 100 days of the parliamentary term.

When asked whether that plan remains during a press conference in Edinburgh, the First Minister said: “I certainly intend to carry on with my plans, yes.”

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He then added: “I’ll talk to the leaders of all political parties with the exception of Reform about how we might collaborate to improve the lives of people in Scotland. Having a referendum on independence and becoming an independent country would be a significant factor.”

Earlier in the day, Swinney had posed for photographs with the new SNP group of MSPs, who celebrated the election result at the top of Edinburgh’s Calton Hill.

The First Minister pointed out that the 58 SNP MSPs, combined with the record 15 Scottish Green MSPs, meant there are “now more pro-independence MSPs than at any time in the history of the Scottish Parliament”.

He insisted Holyrood be given powers over a referendum – saying the “way forward on this must be made in Scotland”.

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney with the new MSPs (Image: Jane Barlow)

With Reform UK having made gains in England in council elections, the SNP leader added: “The results across the UK made clear why the need for independence is so urgent.

“Nigel Farage is now galloping towards Downing Street and the prospect of a Reform-led government is more likely than not.”

That, he said, gave rise to the prospect of the UK having a “prime minister who is openly hostile to minority groups, who has called for the privatisation of the NHS and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament”.

The First Minister added: “It is vital we unite in Scotland to ensure our Parliament is fully Farage-proofed.

“That means having the power before 2029 to decide our own constitutional future without Farage being able to block us.”

While he accepted the SNP had not won an overall majority in Holyrood in the election, Swinney said this “does not change the underlying fact that despite all the attempts to stop us for the fourth election in a row there is a pro-independence mandate in the new Scottish Parliament”.