Swinney insists 'stars are aligning' for independence after Burnham's devolution olive branch fails to impress

John Swinney is set to address the SNP's Aberdeen conference, describing 2026 as a "turning point" in Scotland's "journey towards statehood" and declaring "there is no turning back" — even though he fell short of the Holyrood majority he had designated as his referendum trigger. The defiant keynote follows Andy Burnham's visit to Motherwell the previous day, where he offered deeper devolution and urged Scotland to "move beyond the constitutional questions". Swinney contends that unionist parties at Westminster are "weaker than they have ever been" and that the wind is "firmly in the sails" of the independence movement.

Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth accused Burnham of acting like "the first prime minister of England" as she demanded he permit a second independence vote.

Burnham ruled out any independence referendum for the rest of his time in Downing Street, a No 10 insider confirmed, while offering DWP devolution and deeper regional powers instead.

A new Electoral Calculus MRP poll predicts Labour would win 353 seats if an election were held now, deflating SNP hopes that a hung parliament would leave them holding pivotal influence over its outcome.