Premiership of John Swinney

John Swinney's term as First Minister of Scotland began on 8 May 2024, when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session, upon Humza Yousaf's resignation.

Swinney previously served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004, when the party was in opposition. Yousaf announced his resignation as party leader and first minister on 29 April 2024, amid a government crisis. Swinney announced his leadership bid on 2 May, but faced potential leadership challenges from Kate Forbes and Graeme McCormick. Both candidates eventually decided not to stand and endorsed Swinney, who was therefore elected unopposed as the SNP party leader on 6 May.

Background
Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP had been in a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. In April 2024, Yousaf terminated the agreement, following changes to landmark climate policy by Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy. Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, co-leaders of the Greens, announced they would support a no confidence motion in Yousaf. Amid the crisis, Yousaf announced his resignation as party leader and first minister on 29 April.

Leadership election
On 2 May, Swinney launched his leadership bid, after Kate Forbes, who was a serious contender to become leader, declined to stand and endorsed him.

Graeme McCormick announced he would challenge Swinney for the leadership, saying he had the 100 nominations on 5 May. Just hours later, he withdrew and endorsed Swinney, becoming the presumptive nominee.

On 6 May, with no other candidates put forward, Swinney was elected as party leader unopposed.

Government formation
Swinney was officially sworn into office as First Minister of Scotland on 8 May 2024 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III.

The majority of Swinney's cabinet were previously part of Humza Yousaf's previous governments. The only addition to the cabinet was Kate Forbes replacing Shona Robison as Deputy First Minister of Scotland, and taking part of Màiri McAllan's responsibility for economy into her portfolio as Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic. Robison was, however, re-appointed by Swinney as Finance Secretary with additional responsibility for local government, with McAllan appointed as the reduced portfolio of Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy.

Swinney's cabinet met for the first time on 10 May 2024, with the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government John-Paul Marks and the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain also attending the cabinet meeting. Speaking about the first meeting of his cabinet since becoming First Minister, Swinney said "today, my colleagues and I embark on a new chapter as we collectively work to build a better, brighter future for the people of Scotland. It is my greatest honour to lead us forward on that journey – one that will drive economic growth, tackle the climate crisis and eradicate the scourge of child poverty in our country once and for all".

Debut First Ministers Questions


Swinney's first First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament as First Minister occurred on Thursday 9 May 2024, during which Swinney's record on education during his tenure as education secretary under former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was attacked by both Anas Sarwar (leader, Scottish Labour Party) and Douglas Ross (leader, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party). Ross asked if Swinney would "recommit to increasing teacher numbers by 3,500", whilst Sarwar asked Swinney if he "could save 450 Glasgow teachers whose jobs are under threat". Swinney confirmed to the Scottish Parliament chamber that, as First Minister, he would work with local councils to "deliver on education".

His decision to appoint Kate Forbes as the Deputy First Minister was criticised by Patrick Harvie, the co–leader of the Scottish Greens, who asked if the SNP was going back to "the repressive values of 1950s with the return of Kate Forbes to the cabinet". Swinney was dismissive of the claims made by Harvie and defended his decision on appointing Forbes as Deputy First Minister, claiming that Forbes "had delivered progressive taxation when she was finance secretary".

First actions
Upon becoming First Minister, Swinney addressed issues within NHS Scotland, the country's national health service. He recognised that the NHS in Scotland is "operating under sustained pressure", further adding that " I am absolutely committed to working with health boards to improve standards – starting with our recent £30 million investment to drive down waiting times". Additionally, Swinney also pledged support to infrastructure projects across Scotland, stating that the Scottish Government "will also build on our investment and track record on major infrastructure projects. I’m pleased to also be able to visit one example of that record being the Levenmouth Rail Link, a line which will reconnect local communities for the first time in 50 years, and make a real contribution to the Government’s net-zero transport ambitions. I pledge that I will stand with Scotland’s businesses, large and small, and do whatever I can to help them to grow, innovate, and boost our economy for the benefit of those who live here".

Swinney's early premiership was marked by the resolution of the Michael Matheson iPad scandal: the SNP MSP Michael Matheson had incurred a £11,000 bill after taking a Parliamentary iPad while on a family holiday, and had attempted to claim the bill back on expenses before admitting that the iPad had not been used for work purposes. Swinney refused to support the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's proposed sanction on Matheson, describing Matheson as a "friend and colleague" who had "made mistakes", and casting doubt on the integrity of the committee's process: describing the process as "prejudiced", Swinney claimed that Conservative MSP Annie Wells should have removed herself from the committee due to previous comments about Matheson's conduct. Swinney's support for Matheson was described as "incredible and indefensible" by the Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross, and "unbelievable and embarrassing" by the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Swinney directed the SNP to abstain on the parliamentary vote on the committee's recommendations, after introducing an amendment re-iterating Swinney's complaints about the investigation into Matheson. The Scottish Parliament subsequently voted in support of the committee's proposed sanction, banning Matheson from the Scottish Parliament for 27 days and withholding his salary 54 days, the heaviest sanction ever awarded to an MSP.

Housing crisis
In May 2024, Swinney declared a national housing crisis across Scotland following pressure in the Scottish Parliament from the Scottish Labour Party who brought forward a motion in the parliamentary chamber on the issue. Up until the declaration of a housing crisis, homelessness in Scotland had been rising significantly, with five local authorities including City of Edinburgh Council and City of Glasgow Council urging the Scottish Government to immediately intervene. It was estimated that around 15,000 people in Scotland were reported to be living in temporary housing accommodation, including an estimated 10,000 children across the country.

Swinney argued that "bringing back empty homes into use is key to tackling the newly declared housing emergency", further commenting that "the housing supply has to be developed and new investment has to be found to ensure more new homes are built". The decision to declare a housing emergency by the Scottish Government was widely welcomed by homelinesses charities across Scotland.

Programme for government


On 22 May 2024, Swinney outlined his programme for government as First Minister. In a speech to the Scottish Parliament, Swinney identified four priorities for Scotland including eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services. During his speech, Swinney highlighted the "the economic and fiscal realities we face", but advocated that the priorities for the government will "guide my government’s decisions on policy and budget", further claiming that "the four priorities around which I will work to secure cross-party support is for the good of the people of Scotland". Overall, Swinney argued that the programme for government's priorities are essential, stating that "eradicating child poverty, growing the economy and tackling the climate emergency all link together to support my fourth key priority – to improve Scotland’s public services – not as a cost, but as a vital investment in our future health, equality and prosperity". Subject to the Scottish Parliamentary timetable, the date for Programme for Government will be confirmed in due course.

Child poverty


One of the four priorities of government under Swinney is the eradication of child poverty in Scotland. On the same day he announced his government's priorities for government, Swinney pledged £16 million in invest in childcare across Scotland over the next two years. Scottish Government ministers have a statutory requirement to "cut the number of children living in households in relative poverty to below 10% by 2030", with an estimated 240,000 children (24%) living in relative poverty following the deduction of associated housing costs from 2020–2023.

In June 2024, new measures were introduced by the Scottish Government to reduce child poverty figures. New measures include the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund (CPAF) providing "up to £80,000 per grant towards local projects that test and evaluate new approaches which target at least one of the three drivers of child poverty reduction". The three drivers involved in the reduction of child poverty include improving income from employment, supporting people with the cost of living, and increasing awareness and uptake of social security benefits.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice in Swinney's government, said "Eradicating child poverty is a central mission for the Scottish Government and we must find new and innovative ways to achieve this". She further added that "the Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund will support projects that target the root causes of child poverty and create lasting change in our communities".

Climate change
Previously billed as the "most ambitious in the world", Scotland ditched its target to reduce climate emissions by 75% by 2030 in April 2024. The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero in Swinney's government said ministers were "steadfastly" committed to reaching net zero by 2045.

Education and criminal justice
As part of his programme for government, Swinney pledged to "work with our local authority partners through the Verity House agreement across a range of policy areas". Through this collaboration, Swinney claims that the Scottish Government intends to continue the improvement of educational performance across Scotland, as well as the delivery of sustainable and affordable social care by reducing the number of delayed discharges across Scotland's hospitals. Additionally, Swinney claimed that his programme for government will "work with partners to improve the efficiency of the criminal justice system to deliver better for victims".

2024 UK general election
Swinney stated that the decision to hold the 2024 general election on 4 July, when many Scottish schools were on holiday, was "the latest act of disrespect" by the Conservatives towards Scotland. The SNP had previously planned to hold a second independence referendum on 19 October 2023, when many Scottish schools would have been on holiday.

The SNP manifesto for the general election, launched by Swinney in Edinburgh on 19 June, included a "page one, line one" statement; "Vote SNP for Scotland to Become an Independent Country". The manifesto stated that the Scottish Government would be "empowered" to begin negotiations for a second independence referendum if the SNP won a majority of Scottish seats at the general election. Swinney said at the manifesto's launch; "If the SNP wins a majority of seats in this election in Scotland, the Scottish government will embark on negotiations with the UK government to run the democratic wishes of people in Scotland into a reality. The best way to secure independence is through a democratic referendum, the obstacle to that is the intransigence of the United Kingdom government. So what this election gives people the chance to do is to intensify the pressure to secure Scottish independence and to bring that about by voting SNP in order for us to achieve a majority of Westminster seats at this election."

During the general election campaign, Scottish Parliament officials began an investigation into the SNP following a complaint that stamps bought on parliamentary expenses were passed to Westminster election candidates for campaigning activities. Parliamentary rules state that stationery and postage provided by the Scottish Parliament Corporate Body "must be used only for parliamentary duties and must not be used for any other purpose, including party political purposes". It was reported that Swinney's office manager had told an SNP staff WhatsApp group chat that "stamp fairy is very useful when it comes to campaigns". Swinney stated that he had been "assured that no parliamentary stamps that have been provided by Parliament have been used to support election purposes", and added he was "confident" that there had been no use of any public money to support the SNP general election campaign.

The SNP ultimately won nine seats in the 2024 election, a loss of 38 seats on its 2019 result, reducing it to the second-largest party in Scotland, behind Scottish Labour, and the fourth-largest party in Westminster. Swinney took full responsibility but said that he would not resign as leader. He said of the results, "There will have to be a lot of soul searching as a party as a consequence of these results that have come in tonight", and that the SNP has to be "better at governing on behalf of the people of Scotland", admitting the party was not "winning the argument" on Scottish independence.

International relations
In June 2024, Swinney undertook his first official overseas visit as First Minister to Germany. During his visit, Swinney met with the European Affairs Minister, Eric Beisswenger, in Bavaria. During the visit, Eric Beisswenger said that it was a "great honour" to have Swinney visit Germany and Bavaria, further adding "Bavaria and Scotland have long maintained close bilateral contacts, which have been gradually expanded and formalised since the early 2000s. We are also united by self-confidence and a certain tendency towards independence".