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John Swinney has come under intense fire after insulting thousands of Scottish Reform UK voters. The SNP leader claimed those who vote for Nigel Farage’s party have “alien values” compared to the rest of the country.

The First Minister also said there is a “very real possibility” that Nigel Farage could be the UK’s next prime minister – adding he is “fearful of what lies ahead” if that comes to fruition. His comments come after Reform gained its foothold in the local elections after seizing hundreds of seats in a series of victories that have redrawn the political map of Britain. With Nigel Farage having fought a successful campaign, the party made huge gains across England and could have the Scottish Parliament in their sights next year.

After a series of stunning victories in the local elections, Nigel Farage’s party could be poised to make similar inroads in Scotland

Asked if Mr Farage could be the next prime minister of the UK, Mr Swinney told the PA news agency: “Yes, I think it is a very real possibility that that could happen. It makes me very fearful of what lies ahead.”

He accused both Labour and the Conservatives of spending years “cosying up to the Farage agenda”.

He described the election results as being a “demonstration of the absolutely spectacular failure of the Labour and Conservative parties in their handling of Farage”.

Hitting out at the Tories and Labour, the Scottish First Minister claimed both parties had “spent years cosying up to the Farage agenda and they have now come a cropper”.

Speaking about the “folly of their actions” he added: “I think Labour and the Tories have spent years cosying up to Farage.

“I have made clear the only way to deal with Farage is to confront him, which is what we will do in Scotland and to take a different approach.”

The SNP leader made clear he wants to “make sure that the decent values of Scotland, which I cherish and treasure enormously, are the values which prevail against the alien values that Nigel Farage is peddling”.

Reform UK councillor Thomas Kerr said: “To hear the First Minister describe the values of ordinary Reform voters as ‘alien’ is deeply disappointing. It’s also revealing. When political elites like Mr Swinney lose control of the narrative, they often resort to fear, smear, and the old reliable trick of calling everyone they disagree with a danger to democracy.”