John Swinney has called on Scottish voters to “stop Nigel Farage at the border” - just as senior SNP figures called for more migrants to flood through it.
The First Minister is set to rail against Reform UK on the campaign trail today, saying only a vote for his party could lock the party out of power at Holyrood, claiming other parties would do a "grubby deal" with them.
He said: “The SNP wants to bring down people’s bills, and the other parties led by Reform want to stop us.
"Reform and the other parties want people to vote for an opposition to stop things from happening - I want people to vote for an SNP Government to get things done, bring down the cost of food, reduce the cost of the commute and expand support for childcare.
“That is the choice on the ballot paper one week from today - and by uniting behind the SNP, people in Scotland can stop Nigel Farage at the border.”
It comes after SNP Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan claimed "too few" migrants were coming to Scotland.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms McAllan insisted that migration was "good and necessary" for the Scottish economy, adding that "we are a welcoming country".
While she acknowledged that housing supply was a significant issue across the country, she said the problem was not related to levels of immigration.
The First Minister said that only a vote for his party could lock Reform out of power at Holyrood
|GETTY
Instead, the senior SNP figure blamed "depressed construction" of new homes on poor economic conditions.
The SNP has previously lambasted "Westminster immigration policies" for their "one-size-fits-all approach" which it claims ignores Scotland's needs.
The party website reads: "Everyone in Scotland will know someone who is an immigrant - we’re not strangers to it having lost so many people to countries around the world.
"They’re the people who are our friends and neighbours, or even family members."
SNP - READ THE LATEST HEADLINES:
SNP Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan fumed at 'too few' migrants coming to Scotland
| GETTY"Many work alongside us in our health service, look after our relatives in care homes, pick our crops and keep our farms profitable, or staff our hospitality sector at the height of the season.
"Unlike the leading Westminster parties we’re not going to cave into the agenda of billionaire press owners wanting to distract people with lurid headlines."
Meanwhile, Reform's Scottish leader, Lord Offord, told a campaign rally in Aberdeen: "This idea that we’ve become the food bank of the world or the health service of the world is not right and it’s not fair.
“I think that’s something that we’re hearing now - Scots are saying enough’s enough.”
Lord Offord told a campaign rally in Aberdeen: 'Scots are saying enough's enough'
| PAAt the same rally, Mr Farage declared that Reform could take "outright power" in Scotland by 2031.
He told supporters: “I do think Scottish politics deserves a jolt, and I do believe that Malcolm Offord is prepared to give the courage and the leadership to take us through May 7, to establish us in Holyrood and to put us in a position where we win outright power, outright control, next time around."
According to recent polling from The Telegraph, the SNP are on course to win 67 seats in the Scottish Parliament.
The survey also points to a two-way battle for second place between Reform and Labour, with the Conservatives trailing in fourth.
Mr Farage said that a second-place finish in the May 7 elections would be a "breakthrough" moment for Scotland.
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