Swinney defends food prices policy ahead of first minister vote

SNP leader John Swinney has denied his food prices policy is an attempt to force a fight with the UK government.

Speaking on the BBC's Today programme ahead of his anticipated re-election as first minister, Swinney said his plan to legally cap the price of some food items in supermarkets was a reaction to the cost of living crisis.

He said people were "struggling to afford a very basic shop" and that he had a "public health responsibility" to provide an affordable nutritious diet.

Under the SNP manifesto pledge, large supermarkets would be compelled to limit the cost of up to 50 essential items such as milk, eggs, cheese and rice.

The party also promised to cap bus fares at £2 and expand childcare.

The food price policy has received criticism from some, including trade association the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), which described it as a "gimmick".

The SRC's Ewan MacDonald-Russell told the programme the policy risked forcing small shops - which are not covered by the proposed legislation - to be uncompetitive.

Swinney said "engagement" with producers and retailers on the legislation would be "crucial to get it right" but the challenge he has is "facing up to members of the public who are really struggling".

It is thought the proposed legislation would require changes to the UK Internal Markets Act of 2020, which was brought in after Brexit to prevent trade barriers and regulatory divergence between England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland as powers returned from the EU.

Swinney accepted that, having fallen short of an SNP majority in the election, he would have to work with other parties in Holyrood as well as UK ministers if he were to implement the policy.

Asked whether he was looking for a "punch-up" with Westminster in order to make the case for independence, the SNP leader said: "What I'm doing is trying to help people who are struggling with the cost of their shopping.

"There are procedures I have got to go through to make that happen.

"I enter these discussions from a spirit of wanting to find a solution that will work for people who are struggling to afford their shopping in Scotland today."

Later on Tuesday, Swinney will stand as first minister in a poll of MSPs.

All six parties in the Scottish Parliament have nominated their leaders to serve in the post, but Swinney's success is virtually assured after the SNP's emphatic victory in the 7 May election.

The SNP won 58 seats, with its nearest rivals, Labour and Reform UK, on 17 each.

That means the opposition parties would need to agree on an alternative candidate to defeat Swinney, a highly unlikely prospect.

If he is elected by MSPs – or strictly speaking selected as their nominee for first minister – Swinney's appointment will be confirmed by royal warrant before he is sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

The new first minister is then expected to begin the process of appointing his cabinet.

In the election, the SNP fell seven seats short of a majority at Holyrood where the electoral system means minority or coalition government is the norm.

This means he will need support from other parties to pass legislation.

Swinney has said he is happy to deal with all opposition parties except Reform UK, led in Scotland by former Conservative peer Malcolm Offord.

He said Nigel Farage's party had "completely different values" to his, a position Lord Offord called "arrogant, petty and deeply undemocratic."

Pro-independence parliament

Swinney also told Today that the new Scottish Parliament is supportive of independence and he needed "to find a means of ensuring that the democratic wishes of the people of Scotland take effect."

There is a pro-independence majority at Holyrood after the election, combining both SNP and Scottish Green MSPs, but Swinney campaigned in the election on the basis that an SNP majority alone was necessary to advance the cause of a second independence referendum.

His party's constituency vote share fell 9.5 percentage points to 38.2% compared to 2021, while its share of the regional vote was down 13.3 points to 27.2%.

Scotland voted by 55% to 45% to remain in the union in 2014.

The power to hold a referendum resides with Westminster and the UK Labour government has made clear that is has no intention of allowing a second vote on the matter.