# Burnham's Scottish visit threatens to overshadow SNP conference

> The UK prime minister will visit Scotland during the SNP's annual gathering, presenting a new political challenge as the party seeks to revive its independence case.
- Title: Burnham's Scottish visit threatens to overshadow SNP…
- Summary: The UK prime minister will visit Scotland during the SNP's annual gathering, presenting a new political challenge as the party seeks to revive its…
- Keywords: andy burnham, john swinney, snp, scottish independence, scotland, uk politics, labour party, news, world, Burnham's, Scottish, visit
- Source: the Guardian — https://theguardian.com/politics/2026/oct/15/andy-burnham-scotland-visit-snp-conference
- Published: 2026-10-15T06:00:23+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: andy burnham, john swinney, snp, scottish independence, scotland, uk politics, labour party, news, world
## Burnham visits during SNP conference
UK prime minister Andy Burnham is expected to visit Scotland on Friday, the middle of the SNP's annual conference in Aberdeen, in what appears to be a deliberate attempt to overshadow the event.
## Burnham takes direct aim at Swinney
At Labour's conference last month, Burnham mentioned SNP leader John Swinney as the only rival politician he named, reflecting on Swinney's prediction that Burnham would be the last UK prime minister.

> I relay it because I want you to know how it made me feel. Utterly determined to prove him wrong.
## Burnham rules out second referendum
Unlike previous prime ministers, Burnham has said there is no clear consensus for another independence referendum and is actively making the case for the union on Scottish soil.

> no clear consensus
## SNP faces a different opponent
Swinney wants a new independence vote before twenty thirty-one.Burnham's devolution agenda, openness to exploring a return to the European Union and two pound bus fares are harder for the SNP to confront than rightwing governments.
## Burnham popular even with SNP voters
Polling by PF Global found that forty-six percent of Scots have a favourable view of Burnham, far higher than the Labour party itself and double Keir Starmer's when he left power.
## SNP recovering from recent turmoil
The SNP is seeking to move past Nicola Sturgeon's resignation and the fraud conviction of her estranged husband Peter Murrell, who is serving a five-year prison sentence for embezzling four hundred thousand pounds from the…
## SNP won May election but faces challenges
In May, the SNP won a fifth successive election but only enough to form a minority government. Reform has as many MSPs as Labour with seventeen, while the Scottish Greens won a record fifteen seats.
## Scots increasingly want collaboration
Polling by Ipsos found that forty-two percent of Scots would feel happy about the SNP-led Scottish government working with London, up twelve points since Starmer was in charge in May.
## Key takeaway

Andy Burnham visits Scotland during the SNP conference to argue for the union, a more direct challenge than previous prime ministers have posed to Scottish nationalists.