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On income tax, Swinney reaffirms his call for the UK government to follow his party's more "progressive" tax structure.

The Scottish Parliament has some tax powers, including the ability to set income tax rates and bands (except for the starting threshold, currently at £12,570).

Scotland now has six income tax bands while the rest of the UK has only three.

The way the tax bands and rates are applied means those who pay income tax in Scotland who earn more than £28,867 pay more income tax than someone with the same earnings elsewhere in the UK, while those on the lower rungs of income tax pay around £20 less each year.

Swinney says "if the UK government doesn't change its stance on tax, Scotland is going to get its budget cut".

He claims that is a simple answer to the £18bn spending cuts which the next prime minister and chancellor will impose on Scotland.

The questioning now turns to tax and Swinney is asked if he would put up VAT.

He says he will make decisions after Thursday's election on how VAT changes could affect different sectors of business and society.

Swinney says he will need know the financial details of any budget before pushing SNP plans forward.

• VAT returns are completed by businesses on a UK-wide basis, and it is not possible to take specific Scottish VAT receipts from these returns. Find out more

The SNP leader says he takes responsibility for the actions of his government at Holyrood - but notes that he also has to explain the circumstances in which the Scottish government operates.

He says he takes full responsibility for increased taxes for those on higher earnings.

"We're generating £1.5bn more of investment in our public services," he adds.

John Swinney suggests that Labour will win Thursday's election.

So what do the latest polls indicate?

Polls are a survey of people's intended vote when election day rolls around.

But polls don't survey everyone, so it would be wrong to say they indicate exactly how an election will play out.

However, it can be useful to give a sense of how public opinion is trending.

Currently - across the UK - Labour are ahead of the Conservatives by 20 points.

That means 20% more people say they intend to vote Labour over those who say they will vote Conservative.

You can check the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's poll tracker here.

John Swinney says "there is an £18bn tranche of spending cuts coming towards us from a Labour government that will elected on Thursday."

That £18bn figure comes from the Institute of Fiscal Studies think tank.

You can read more about this claim here.

Continuing on the claim about £18bn of spending cuts, Swinney says continuing austerity is the last thing we need.

He turns to Brexit and says it has caused huge damage to our society.

Martin Geissler points out the elections has not happened yet and Swinney is already blaming the next Westminster government.

He questions whether the main problem with the SNP is the abdication of responsibility.

"What do you take responsibility for?" Swinney is asked.

How will tactical voting impact the SNP?published at 10:49 British Summer Time 30 June

10:49 BST 30 June

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland political correspondent

John Swinney was pressed on the issue of tactical voting - something which was particularly apparent in the 2019 election, when essentially every seat became a two-horse race between the SNP and whoever was most likely to challenge them locally.

The question is whether those patterns hold up this time, or whether they shift.

Previously it was the SNP, as the dominant force in Scotland, who had a target on their back.

This week there is the possibility of tactical voting targeting the Conservatives, among people who want a change of government at Westminster. How likely is it that former Labour voters will back the Conservatives in SNP-Tory marginals, given the national narrative?

So there is a chance the SNP could profit from some tactical voting, in the seats they want to take from the Tories.

But equally if votes swing away from the Tories towards Labour nation-wide, that could pose a challenge for the SNP in the seats it is trying to defend from Sir Keir Starmer’s party.

Martin asks how worried John Swinney is about tactical voting.

John Swinney says his party has to put a "positive and hopeful message to people about what the Scottish National Party can do for them".

The first minister says: "There is an £18bn tranche of spending cuts coming towards us from a Labour government that will elected on Thursday."

That will have a negative effect on the public finances of Scotland, he adds.

"Austerity is killing our public services," argues the first minister.

He says the Labour Party are going to sign up to the same fiscal rules as the Tories.

He highlights cuts to capital spending from Westminster, and argues there isn't sufficient investment in the public sector.

Challenged about the SNP's finances, Swinney insists: "We've got enough money to fund this campaign."

He adds: "I've been running the country for the last few weeks" and has not had time to travel the country on a campaign bus.

He insists it's been a "focused campaign".

The first question is about the state of the SNP and its finances.

John Swinney replies his party deploys its resources at the right time, "sensibly and wisely".

The SNP leader explains they have a campaign bus for the last week of campaigning - right up until polling day.

To have had it for the full 6 weeks would have been a waste of money, Swinney adds.

Martin Geissler welcomes the first minister and SNP leader John Swinney to the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ studio in Glasgow.

The interview with John Swinney is about to begin.

Let's take a look at the Scottish first minister and SNP leader's life.

He was born and raised in Edinburgh and went to Edinburgh University, where he graduated with an degree in politics in 1986.

Before winning the Tayside North seat at Westminster in 1997, Mr Swinney worked at the Scottish Coal Project and spent five years at Scottish Amicable Life Assurance.

He joined the SNP in 1979 aged 15 after a referendum held that year failed to deliver devolution for Scotland.

Mr Swinney was soon running the SNP's youth wing and climbed through senior roles in the national party, becoming its secretary aged 22.

He is Scotland’s longest serving elected parliamentarian.

Mr Swinney believed his days in frontline politics were over until a matter of weeks ago, when an SNP leadership crisis propelled him back to the head of the party.

He previously led the party between 2000 and 2004, succeeding Alex Salmond.

When the SNP came to power at Holyrood for the first time in 2007, Mr Salmond - by that time back in charge of the SNP - turned to Mr Swinney to be his finance secretary.

He held that post for more than seven years and then became deputy first minister to Nicola Sturgeon.

After a second spell as finance secretary, Mr Swinney served as education secretary and then Covid recovery secretary.

He stood down from government at the same time as Nicola Sturgeon, in March 2023, and had seemingly retired from the frontbenches.

However, following the resignation of Humza Yousaf, Mr Swinney began a second stint as SNP leader, citing a sense of "duty" to the party.

Read more here.

The SNP's Stephen Flynn earlier appeared on the Laura Kuenssberg programme.

He was asked about his party's strategy to criticise both Labour and the Tories on their spending plans.

It was put to him that the economics think tank the IFS has also said the SNP plans would require extra tax or spending.

He accused the main parties of a "conspiracy of silence" on public finances, and called for more spending on vital services.

Flynn was challenged on further analysis from the IFS on the SNP, which said the party was skirting around the cost of Scottish independence.

Its analysis suggested if the SNP achieved its goal of independence, high levels of public borrowing and either significant tax rises or cuts to public services in Scotland would be necessary.

Flynn responded that if Scotland were independent, it would be able to invest in its own economy and in the transition to net zero, for example.

He added that the SNP stands apart because it wants to be a part of the European single market, and that it is supportive of immigration.

A little bit later than usual, this week’s The Sunday Show is now on air.

Remember, you can hit play at the top of this page to watch - it’s also live on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One Scotland and Radio Scotland.

And we’ll bring you live text updates, reaction and analysis right here.

If you're wondering what are the parties promising, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ News has a tool to help.

This guide offers a summary of where parties stand on key topics to help voters make informed decisions at the ballot box.

• Who should I vote for and what are the parties promising?

This morning's The Sunday Show on TV and iPlayer will begin at the later time of 10:30.

That's because the Laura Kuenssberg programme has been extended by 30 minutes.

When The Sunday Show ends, the debate and interviews continue on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Scotland.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of The Sunday Show.

This week we have SNP leader John Swinney facing questions from Martin Geissler.

You can watch or listen by pressing the play icons at the top of this page.

The programme is on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One Scotland from 10:30 until 11:00, then continues on Radio Scotland until 12:00.