John Swinney and the SNP are at a fork in the road when dealing with Nigel Farage and Reform's rise, the ascendency of the far and hard right, and the extremists within, says Neil Mackay.

The SNP has two choices: accept its part in the rise of the far-right, or grow a spine and take the fight to extremists.

Let’s consider the first option. Accepting its role in the rise of the far-right simply entails continuing upon the same path it has been on for years.

It’s not unfair to say that the SNP shares some blame for the social conditions that fed into anger on the streets and the growth in support for Reform.

The SNP is by no means as culpable as the Conservatives or Labour, but in government it could have done so much more to sandbag voters’ lives.

Yes, it is dependent upon the economic conditions set by Westminster, and funding that comes from UK coffers, but that doesn’t mean it is blameless.

It has made political choices which in some cases made lives worse. Though the SNP should also be credited with making political choices which sometimes helped the worst off in society, like the Scottish Child Payment.

The SNP didn’t actively break Scotland. Years of Tory mayhem, followed by the abject failure of Labour, broke Britain and took Scotland down into the bargain.

However, the SNP’s passivity in the face of social collapse cannot be excused. It could have been braver, smarter and far more proactive.

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