Protesters gather as Swinney chairs special summit to tackle far right

Protesters holding “mass deportation now” signs gathered in Glasgow as John Swinney held a special cross-party summit to tackle the far right.

Demonstrators wore T-shirts saying “not far-right” as they brandished banners with the words “asylum frauds out”.

Reform UK protesters also gathered outside the building in the city centre, holding pictures of Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and the First Minister above the words “democracy denier”.

Reform UK were not invited to the summit, although councillor Thomas Kerr, who joined the protest, said he would not have attended.

Mr Sarwar joined Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie and Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton at the summit, along with a host of civic and religious leaders.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay refused the invite, describing the event as a “talking shop”.

Speaking at the start of the meeting, Mr Swinney warned of the “polarising forces” that he said were exploiting Scotland’s democratic “weaknesses”.

He did not mention Reform UK by name but previously said he considered the group far-right.

“This gathering, ultimately, is about the quality of our democracy,” he said.

“It’s not about symptoms, for example, how people choose to vote, but it’s very much about identifying and seeking to understand deeper causes. What, at a deeper level, is driving disenchantment and polarisation?

“Where are there gaps and weaknesses in our democratic structures and within our wider society that anti-democratic forces can exploit?”

“There might well be some finger pointing in the course of today, but I also hope that we have a sense of collective responsibility for the actions that we need to take to ensure that we protect, fundamentally, the values and the attributes of our society, and have a collective determination to do something about that.”

Mr Swinney said Scotland could not control “social and economic tectonic plates” moving around the world, but urged those who gathered on Wednesday to help find a Scottish-specific solution.

He said: “There is much more we can do to prepare and protect our society, and there is much we can do to build a culture here in Scotland that is better able to respond and to resist those pressures, better able to strike out on new paths.”

Heading into the summit, Mr Harvie told reporters that it must address the “legitimate concerns” he said were being exploited by “toxic forces”.

“I certainly think whatever happens in the conversation here needs to not be restricted to what happens within the walls of a building like this,” he said.

“It needs to be about deciding how we’re going to get out into the wider country and address the very legitimate concerns that some dangerous, toxic forces are tapping into.

“Those concerns are legitimate, but the far-right answers are not.”

Mr Cole-Hamilton said the SNP – which has been in power since 2007 – was in part responsible for people being disengaged with politics in the country.

He said: “I’m here in good faith. I’ve been told this is a meeting about tackling hate and disrespect in our politics, about engaging the public.

“I think if we are honest, a lot of the reasons people are disengaged with politics is the failures of this government.

“But I’m here in good faith and I’m here to listen.”

However, he warned that the summit risks becoming a “talking shop” unless it leads to action.

Mr Sarwar, meanwhile, said Mr Swinney would rather “talk up” Reform UK than take on the issues facing his government.

Asked if the summit was an “anti-Farage get-together”, he said: “I think John Swinney would like it to be that, to be honest.

“I think it suits him to talk up Reform rather than take on the issues that his government is facing.

“The best way of stopping people from going to divisive politics, from being pushed towards political parties like Reform or Farage is actually having a Scottish Government that delivers for people.”

Mr Kerr, who defected to Reform UK from the Tories earlier this year, described the summit as an “affront to democracy”.

Speaking to the PA news agency outside the summit, the Glasgow councillor urged the First Minister to battle their disagreements out at the ballot box instead.

He said: “John Swinney is a left-wing politician, I’m a right-wing politician. We have disagreements when it comes to policy.

“That’s what elections are for, and we’ll have that fight when it comes to the Holyrood election.

“What’s going on in this building behind us, though, is an affront to democracy.

“The First Minister is using taxpayers’ cash to have a summit against a political opponent that he doesn’t like. I think that’s an absolute disgrace.”

Mr Kerr said those attending the summit were “absolutely petrified” of Reform UK.

“There are so many people in this country who are scunnered, fed up and angry with the political establishment,” he said, “all of whom are in that building behind me right now.

“They want to send them a message and Reform are the people that are going to do it.

“So I don’t blame John Swinney for being terrified. If I was him, I would be as well.”