Accusations of self-delusion as John Swinney claims he stands for economic growth while failing to halt eye-watering hikes to business rates

By MICHAEL BLACKLEY SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 20:45, 3 April 2026 | Updated: 20:45, 3 April 2026 John Swinney has been accused of ‘self-delusion’ after he claimed he will boost the prospects for businesses despite coming under fire for not providing them with enough support. The First Minister said he will lead an ‘activist government’ that will prioritise growth if he is re-elected, and pledged to improve the prospect for businesses to succeed and ‘change Scotland’. But he has faced widespread criticism for failing to stop eye-watering increases in business rates which came into force this week following a revaluation of premises. Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Craig Hoy said yesterday: ‘We can only assume John Swinney is two days late with his April Fool’s joke, otherwise the scale of his self-delusion is off the charts.  'He has been an active block on economic growth for years by leading a government that has crushed businesses with higher bills and red tape. ‘His government has fuelled the cost of living crisis he now claims to be concerned about, by piling tax rise after tax rise on hard-pressed Scots to fund his out-of-control benefits spending.’ John Swinney has been accused of ‘self-delusion’ after he claimed he will boost the prospects for businesses Mr Swinney set out his election focus in an article for The Times. He said: ‘I am seeking a mandate, not simply to implement my manifesto policies, but to lead Scotland through the events, known and unknowable, that we will inevitably face.’ Mr Swinney said he believed in ‘the twin social democratic values of opportunity and compassion’, explaining: ‘Opportunity means improving the chances for businesses to succeed, for people to get jobs and better wages and for economic growth.’ He added: ‘The heart of my vision for our nation is a Scotland where fair economic growth fuels prosperity for everyone and social compassion delivers fairness.’ The First Minister claimed: ‘I believe in an activist government... that does not stand by or stand back – it steps up.’ He said his government will be one that ‘unambiguously’ backs growth and ‘works flat out to expand our tax base’. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said: ‘John Swinney appears to have forgotten that he’s the guy who has been at the heart of this rotten, failing, wasteful, high-tax SNP government for almost two miserable decades.’ No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.