John Swinney’s first party conference since returning as SNP leader is due to begin – with a post-mortem examination into what went wrong in the election campaign.

The SNP dropped to just nine seats in the July 4 poll, its worst return in more than a decade.

The first session of the Edinburgh conference will be a behind-closed-doors meeting led by Mr Swinney that will assess what went wrong in the campaign.

Speaking to the PA news agency on Thursday, he described the election as “very difficult” for the party.

“There’s obviously a lesson that we’ve to learn from that, and that would be part of the discussion on Friday morning,” he said.

“What’s important is the SNP focuses on building for the future.

“We’ve got a great track record of serving the people of Scotland, we need to build on that to make sure we make the positive and hopeful case for independence and that will be at the heart of the party conference.”

Over the course of the weekend, speeches from depute leader Keith Brown, Westminster leader Stephen Flynn and Mr Swinney will be punctuated by “policy discussions” with Scottish Government ministers including Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson and Finance Secretary Shona Robison.

Mr Robertson will likely face questions from members about the recent controversy surrounding his meeting with the deputy Israeli ambassador.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the conference “takes place in the long shadow of SNP failure”.

She added: “NHS waiting lists are at a record high, exam results are tumbling and public services across the board are facing brutal cuts, but the SNP has no answers.

“This is a Government that has completely lost its way and we are all paying the price for its incompetence.

“The SNP is tired, divided and mired in scandal – it cannot deliver for the people of Scotland. They are a party out of ideas and Scots are paying the price.”

Scottish Conservative finance spokeswoman Liz Smith said: “John Swinney is fooling no-one with his desperate attempt to blame anyone but the SNP for the savage cuts and tax rises his Government is imposing.

“With the financially illiterate SNP destroying our economy, and Labour imposing savage cuts on the most vulnerable, Scotland is truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.”