Search

11 Oct 2025

Flynn: Starmer has pushed ‘broken’ Britain from ‘bad to worse’

Flynn: Starmer has pushed ‘broken’ Britain from ‘bad to worse’

Scotland needs a “fresh start” with independence, Stephen Flynn will say, claiming that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has pushed “broken Britain” from “bad to worse”.

The SNP Westminster leader is expected to accuse the Labour Party of breaking its promises to voters in a scathing attack during the opening speech of the SNP’s conference in Aberdeen.

Mr Flynn will point to rising child poverty along with hikes in energy bills, food prices and gloomy forecasts for the UK economy.

The Aberdeen South MP will pitch independence to party members as the solution to a Labour Government he will say has “power but no purpose” and a Westminster system that “isn’t working for Scotland”.

The politician, seen as a potential future leader of his party, is planning to leave Westminster for Holyrood at the May 2026 election.

He will deliver the first speech of the SNP’s three-day conference at The Event Complex Aberdeen on Saturday.

It comes after First Minister John Swinney, who will deliver the closing speech on Monday, launched the last of his Government’s independence papers, the latter of which claimed Scots would be £10,000 richer apart from the UK.

In his speech, Mr Flynn will reiterate Mr Swinney’s claims that Scotland would be better off as an independent country.

“Scotland needs a fresh start with independence,” he is expected to say.

“Let us be in no doubt. That independent future is essential – and you don’t need to take my word for it.

“Because consensus has broken out at Westminster. There is now a shared view amongst the public and the political class that Britain is broken.”

Mr Flynn will say the UK is “alight in the fires of the financial crash”, which he will claim is “leaving the burnt-out wreck of Westminster in plain view”.

He will accuse Westminster of making people across the UK poorer while “saddling” them with austerity.

Mr Flynn will say Labour has failed in its promise to improve the UK after taking over from the Tories and has made the country worse.

“Because,” he will say, “the truth is Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has broken its promises and betrayed the trust that voters placed in them.

“Under Starmer, broken Britain has gone from bad to worse.”

Mr Flynn will point to Waspi women, the rise in energy bills, child poverty levels and national insurance tax hikes – issues he will say prove Labour has “betrayed” voters and cannot be trusted.

He will add: “But while it is vital to recognise the problems of the present, our real job is to offer people the choice of a better future.

“Creating a better future has never been more essential – Scotland must have the choice and the chance to build our nation anew.

“That is the choice that is before us – a choice that isn’t going away no matter how much Westminster wants to silence Scotland and put us in our place.

“Another generation forced to live under a Westminster system that doesn’t work for Scotland – or a generation with the chance and choice to set Scotland on the path to a better future.

“That is the hope that we have and it is the hope we offer.

“The hope of a fresh start, and a better future, with independence.”

Anas Sarwar said the SNP is “desperately out of touch squabbling over independence while services across Scotland are at breaking point”.

The Scottish Labour leader added: “We can’t risk a third decade of this tired and incompetent government.

“Labour delivered an extra £5.2 billion for Scotland’s public services, but no-one can see what the SNP has done with this money.

“This is not as good as it gets – next year’s election is about removing the SNP from power and only Scottish Labour can end their mismanagement and take Scotland in a new direction.”

Mr Sarwar said Scotland is at a “crossroad in our politics” and warned the “stakes are too high to risk a third decade of SNP government”.

He added: “Our NHS is already at breaking point, with nearly one in six Scots on a waiting list, chaos engulfing A&E and ambulances and record numbers of people being forced to go private – I genuinely fear it may not survive another five years of SNP incompetence.

“One person dies from a drug overdose every seven hours in Scotland but hundreds of drug dealers have walked free because of court delays.

“Violence is on the rise in our schools and a housing emergency is causing misery for families across Scotland – but the SNP has no answers.”

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!


Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.


Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.