Tory criticism of Starmer’s desire for family time ‘disgusting’, says Swinney

Tory criticism of Sir Keir Starmer’s desire to spend time with his family if he becomes prime minister was “disgusting”, John Swinney has said.

Sir Keir said this week he will aim to ensure he is free of official business on Friday evenings to spend them with loved ones, but the comments were criticised by some Conservative officials.

In a nod to the Labour leader’s comments, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said being in Number 10 “entails sacrifice”, while former PM Boris Johnson joked at an event that it was “way past Keir Starmer’s bedtime”.

Sir Keir said the attacks were “laughably ridiculous”.

Scottish First Minister Mr Swinney was clearly angered by the Tory criticism.

He told the PA news agency: “I think the Tory attack is just disgusting, to be honest.

“Politics is a 24/7 business, if you’re a political leader you’ve got to be available to deal with decisions, and I’m pretty certain that Keir Starmer, if he is prime minister, will be available to take decisions.”

Mr Swinney – whose son joined him on the campaign trail in Lanarkshire on Wednesday with less than 24 hours before polls open – added: “A politician should not be criticised for wanting to spend time with their loved ones and make sure they’ve got a good, strong, family relationship.

“That is precious to every one of us, no matter our politics, and for the Conservatives to make an issue of that tells us all we need to know about the Conservatives.”

It came as the First Minister hit the campaign trail on the eve of election day, with plans to cover a number of areas.

We'll look at all the issues that are thrown up by the election after the election

A new poll published on Wednesday suggests the SNP could be pulling away from Labour in the dying embers of the campaign, and Mr Swinney urged SNP supporters to turn out to vote, claiming “a handful” could decide close races across the country.

The party has said it will seek negotiations for another referendum on independence if it wins a majority of seats in Scotland, but the First Minister has repeatedly ducked questions on what will happen if the SNP fails in its goal.

“We’re going to campaign to win,” he said.

“We’ll look at all the issues that are thrown up by the election after the election.”

Voters in Scotland, he said, have a “simple choice” between Labour and SNP MPs.