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       John Swinney 'will remain first minister' even if SNP are hammered as
       polls suggest
        
 (HTM) Source
        
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       John Swinney said he will remain first minister even if the SNP take a
       hammering in Thursday's General Election as expected. Opinion polls
       suggest the party could drop a substantial number of seats with Labour
       the most likely beneficiaries, with the two battling to be the largest
       party in Scotland after the General Election.
        
       But Mr Swinney, who took on the role just eight weeks ago after Humza
       Yousaf stood down, has said he plans to carry on into the 2026
       Holyrood election and beyond. He was asked BBC Radio Four's Today
       programme on Monday that if the SNP "took a really bad drubbing" at
       the general election if he would carry on as party leader. He was
       pressed if it would be time for "a fresh start" for the party.
        
       "I became leader of the SNP eight weeks ago today and I came into
       leadership in the SNP to bring my party together and to bring my
       country together," he replied. "I committed to do that for the long
       term, I committed to that task, to take my party well beyond the 2026
       Scottish Parliament elections, and that's exactly what I intend to
       do."
        
       **READ MORE: John Swinney flounders in car crash BBC phone-in show as
       he claims 'debate' over how many genders there are**
        
       **READ MORE: Scots turned off by John Swinney with SNP on course to
       lose over 30 seats, according to bombshell poll**
        
       The First Minister's comments came as he campaigned in the north-east
       of Scotland with candidate Seamus Logan - who is fighting for the
       Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat against embattled Scottish
       Tory leader Douglas Ross.
        
       Ahead of his visit - where he highlighted the impact of Brexit - Mr
       Swinney said: "The result of the election in England is a foregone
       conclusion - Keir Starmer is going to be Prime Minister and he is
       going to carry on with the same broken politics and right-wing
       policies as the Tories.
        
       "The only story left in this election is here in Scotland, where the
       result is on a knife-edge and where there is a real contest of ideas
       and values."
        
       That claim goes against the majority of polls, the most recent of
       which suggest the Nats will drop 30 seats in what would be a
       disastrous result for the fraught party.
        
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