Scottish Parliament election: SNP must not take Holyrood victory for granted, says Deputy First Minister

John Swinney urges party not to be complacent despite forecasts SNP will win an unprecedented third term in power

John Swinney: SNP votes must be earned by party’s record in power (PA)

The SNP must not take the support of Scottish voters for granted, despite a series of opinion polls showing it is set to increase its majority at Holyrood in May’s election, one of the party’s most senior figures has warned.

Marking 100 days to go until the Scottish Parliament election, John Swinney urged his party not to be complacent despite widespread predictions that the SNP will win an unprecedented third term in power – with Labour apparently heading for another painful defeat at the polls.

The Deputy First Minister said his party must not relax before the election and had to “earn the right” to win votes based on its record in government.

He also promised that the SNP would set out “ambitious plans” for the future of Scotland in the coming days.

“The latest tranche of opinion polls have made for encouraging reading in my role as campaign director for the SNP, but we are not a party in the business of taking people’s support for granted,” Mr Swinney said, before quoting Robert Burns. “Since tomorrow marks the birth of our national bard, I’ll borrow some advice from the man himself – ‘There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.’”

Mr Swinney indicated that the SNP campaign will move up a gear this week, as the party publishes figures showing how Scotland is outperforming the UK Government in supporting business and growing the economy. More details will also be given on its plans to reform education after criticism of its record on closing the gap between rich and poor pupils.

Labour launches its own policy on this issue today, promising that every primary school in Scotland will receive an extra £1,000 for each pupil from a deprived background if it is elected, with head teachers being given responsibility to use the money to close the “attainment gap”. The party said the election pledge, which would be paid for by increasing to 50p the top rate of tax for those earning more than £150,000, would result in schools in Glasgow alone receiving almost £12m.