A former SNP Health Secretary has said she is “sympathetic” to a historic coalition between Labour and her party after the Holyrood election. Jeane Freeman said there are “potential gains” in a pact between the two centre-left parties.
A recent opinion poll found Holyrood could be in turmoil after the election due to the rise of Nigel Farage’s right wing Reform. The poll predicted a narrow majority of pro-UK MSPs would be elected, but the SNP would easily remain as the largest party.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar could only become First Minister in these circumstances if Reform voted to put him in Bute House.
Former SNP MP Stewart McDonald has written that an alliance between Labour and the SNP, despite their disagreement on independence, could be a “circuit breaker”. Speaking to the Record, Freeman said: “I am sympathetic to Stewart’s argument. His thinking is always very reasonable.”
She said of Sarwar and SNP First Minister John Swinney: “Nobody expects either leader to comment before an election. Parties go into elections to win them.”
“But in the background there should be careful consideration given on what might work.”
Freeman, who helped lead the response to the covid pandemic, said of the rival parties: “There are areas of commonality. The electorate know that.”
She said she worked with Labour on social security and health when she was in government, adding that both are “centre-left, democratic parties”.
Freeman, who was a Labour member before joining the SNP, said a deal would be difficult, but insisted: “We have pragmatists in our parties. People who can make a difference.
“I would not dismiss the challenges, both real and perceived. But politicians should be confronting challenges, both real and perceived, not saying ‘that’s too difficult’.”
Freeman pointed to the creation of a national care service as an example of an issue Labour and the SNP should deliver together. The policy was axed last week after the Government failed to secure support from the trade unions, councils and Labour.
This was despite widespread agreement on the principle of a NCS after a review of social care by former civil servant Derek Feeley She said of the failure of the SNP and Labour to come together:
“They agree on more than the principle. They agreed on everything in the Feeley review. Where that has fallen down, I don’t know.”
“I just find it sad and dispiriting.”
She said of the rise of Reform and right wing populism in Scotland: “Anyone with a degree of political nous will be concerned by the rise in support for Reform.
“We are not an exception to that.”
Freeman stood down from Holyrood at the last election. Although the SNP and Labour remain political foes, Scots are open-minded about a pact.
A recent poll found support for a coalition between the two parties was stronger than for any other combination.
The Survation snapshot found 33 per cent of people in support of a coalition between the SNP and Labour, with 37 per cent opposed. By contrast, 31 per cent of Scots would be in favour of an SNP-Green coalition, and 42 per cent against.
Around one fifth of punters backed a deal between Labour and the Tories, but 52% were against.
Asked about the poll recently, Swinney did not completely rule out a deal: “Well, I’m all for bringing people together, but let’s keep our feet on the ground here. I think I’ll just, in all these things, I think I’m best to just leave it to the public to come to their conclusions in the 2026 elections, and we’ll see where we get to after that.”
In his article for the Spectator, McDonald wrote about a coalition between the SNP and Labour: “This is not about surrendering individual party identities and political traditions, but honouring the promise of what devolution was always meant to be about: creating a new political architecture that reflects the complexity of modern Scotland.
“When I first floated the idea, a number of friends in both parties told me I was mad. But just as many, also from both parties, told me they thought it had merit. Next year’s Holyrood result is set to be a messy one – a parliament where no party clearly wins, but all clearly lose. An alliance of Scotland’s two socially democratic parties could be the circuit breaker Scotland needs.”
Professor Sir John Curtice of Strathclyde University said of recent polling: “The SNP is still well short of the level of popularity that the party enjoyed at the last. Holyrood election in 2021, and Mr Swinney might well be left seeking the support of other parties to form a new government. SNP supporters are keenest on a coalition deal with the Greens, but they may not have enough MSPs to deliver a majority.
“However, at the same time, more are in favour than are opposed to an agreement with Labour. Intriguingly, such a prospect is not an anathema for many Labour supporters either. Perhaps both parties are going to have to start thinking the hitherto unthinkable in the coming weeks and months.”
An SNP spokesperson said: “The SNP is proud of our track record of delivering for the people of Scotland, and that record will be the basis of our campaign in 2026. Unlike the Labour Party, the SNP keeps its promises and is focused on what matters to the Scottish people: eradicating child poverty, economic growth, strengthening public services and tackling the climate emergency.
“That’s what you get with John Swinney’s SNP; decisions made in Scotland, for Scotland.”
A Scottish Labour spokesman said Sarwar had last year ruled out all coalitions after the election.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, clickhere