Premiership of John Swinney

Premiership of John Swinney 8 May 2024 – present
Monarch	Charles III
Premier	John Swinney
Cabinet	Swinney government
Party	Scottish National Party
Seat	Bute House
← Humza Yousaf

This article is part of a series about John Swinney
Political positions MP for North Tayside MSP for Perthshire North Cabinet positions (2007–2023) Deputy First Minister of Scotland Finance Secretary Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland Leader of the SNP (2024–present) 2024 leadership election First Minister of Scotland (2024–present) Premiership Ministry Operation Branchform Michael Matheson iPad scandal Proposed second independence referendum 2024 UK general election Next Scottish Parliament election
v t e

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.

Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP had been in a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens.^[1] 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.^[2] Amid the crisis, Yousaf announced his resignation as party leader and first minister on 29 April.^[3]

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.^[4]

Graeme McCormick announced he would challenge Swinney for the leadership, saying he had the 100 nominations on 5 May.^[5] Just hours later, he withdrew and endorsed Swinney, becoming the presumptive nominee.^[6]

On 6 May, with no other candidates put forward, Swinney was elected as party leader unopposed.^[7]

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.^[8]

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.^[9] 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.^[10]

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".^[11]

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".^[12] Swinney confirmed to the Scottish Parliament chamber that, as First Minister, he would work with local councils to "deliver on education".^[13]

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".^[14]

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".^{[15][excessive quote][non-primary source needed]}

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.^[16][17]

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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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".^[20] The decision to declare a housing emergency by the Scottish Government was widely welcomed by homelinesses charities across Scotland.^[21]

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 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".^[22] Subject to the Scottish Parliamentary timetable, the date for Programme for Government will be confirmed in due course.^[23]

Swinney's Programme for Government was formally announced on 4 September 2024, aiming to deliver on eradicating child poverty, growing the Scottish economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services across Scotland. Swinney proposed that during 2024–2025, Scottish Parliament bills will be introduced in areas such as Adults with Incapacity, the Scottish Budget, Building Safety Levy, Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets), Community Wealth Building, Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews, Crofting, Leases (such as automatic continuation), Heat in Buildings, Misogyny, Natural Environment, Post-School Education Reform, Prisoners and Scotland's co–hosting of the UEFA Euro 2028 football tournament.^[24]

Since 2007, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person in Scotland has risen by 11% compared to 6% in the rest of the United Kingdom, with Swinney advocating to build on this by spearheading a more inclusive economy by combating inequalities faced by women and minority groups, increasing investment and exports, promoting Scottish businesses and entrepreneurs, supporting business and encouraging more people into work. Swinney pledged to publish a Green Industrial Strategy to outline the Scottish Government's plans towards a more net zero based economy and to establish internationally competitive clusters. The Scottish Government recognises five internationally competitive clusters including onshore and offshore wind, carbon capture utilisation, storage, professional and financial services, together with hydrogen and clean industries.^[25] Swinney announced plans as part of his programme for government to attract more investment to Scotland by creating jobs, supporting innovation and attracting additional investment through the Scottish National Investment Bank, implementing a programme to attract investment in net zero, housing and infrastructure, and a national project pipeline of investment in 2025.^[26]

During a speech to the Edinburgh Futures Institute in October 2024, Swinney acknowledged the "significance of the moment we find ourselves in", claiming that the forthcoming UK Budget statement was "a make-or-break moment". Swinney stressed that the public finances were "a grave challenge" and something in which he had not seen before whilst serving in government, but advocated for an investment to grow the economy. During the speech, Swinney argued that investment in the economy "will allow us to move into an economic spring, with new growth, new opportunities, and new hope", whilst advocating for an all four nations approach towards being able to become "investing governments".^[27]

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.^[28]

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.^[29]

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".^[30]

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.^[31]

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".^[32]

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.^[33]

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."^[34]

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.^[35]

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.^[36]

Swinney introduced a focused strategy to "place Scotland at the forefront of the net zero economy with targeted actions to secure growth and investment". Delivered as part of Swinney's Programme for Government in September 2024, the Green Industrial Strategy sets out five priority areas relating to maximising Scotland’s wind economy, growing the hydrogen sector, developing the carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector, supporting green economy professional and financial services, and attracting clean energy intensive industries such as data centres.^[37]

In the same month, the Grangemouth Refinery was earmarked for closure by current owners and operators Petroineos. In response, both the Scottish Government and the UK Government announced a joint plan to secure the industrial future of the plant, despite the plant losing more than $775 million since 2011 on the backdrop of more than $1.2 billion in investment in order to maintain the refinery’s operation. A £100 million support package was announced, including £20 million in joint funding from the Scottish Government and UK Government, with a further £80 million in joint funding from the Scottish Government and UK Government for the Falkirk and Grangemouth Growth Deal.^[38]

On 12 October 2024, Alex Salmond, the former first minister of Scotland in which Swinney served in both the first and second Salmond governments as finance secretary, died in North Macedonia. On the day of his death, Salmond was highly critical of Swinney's attendance at the newly formed Council of Nations and Regions held in Edinburgh, having posted to X (formerly Twitter) that Swinney should have "politely declined the meeting with the words ‘Scotland is a country not a county".^[39] Swinney lead the Scottish Government tributes towards Salmond following the announcement of his death, stating that Salmond "inspired a generation of people to support Scottish independence". Swinney signed the book of condolence in the Scottish Parliament as part of the tributes.^[40]

On 22 October 2024, Swinney refused to confirm whether he would attend the memorial service for Alex Salmond, claiming that he would be "happy" to attend a memorial service but not confirming whether he would or not and would rather "judiciously follow" the wishes of Salmond's family. Swinney previous claimed in the months prior to Salmond's death that he felt "distant" from Salmond. When asked to clarify his position of attending the memorial event by Sky News, Swinney claimed he would "do whatever is appropriate as First Minister of Scotland and I will pay the appropriate tributes". He confirmed that he would lead the motion of condolence which was to be scheduled during a parliamentary sitting in the Scottish Parliament, further adding "if it’s appropriate for me to be at a memorial service I will do exactly that".^[41]

Nicola Sturgeon, who succeeded Salmond as first minister, and to whom Swinney had served as deputy first minister, had a public feud with Salmond in the years prior to his death and their relationship deteriorated. It was claimed that Sturgeon would not be invited to either a memorial service or Salmond's funeral, however, this was not confirmed by Swinney, the Scottish Government or Salmond's family.^[42] Salmond's funeral was held on 29 October 2014, with both Swinney or Sturgeon not being in attendance. A spokesperson for the Scottish Government confirmed that Sturgeon and Swinney did not attend the funeral service at the request of Salmond's family, but said that the wishes of both the first minister and Scottish Government remained with Salmond's family on the day of his funeral.^[43]

Within the NHS Grampian health board, a "critical incident" was declared which resulted in patients being diverted from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary as a result of capacity concerns at the hospital. Ahead of the delivery of the Scottish budget in December 2024, Swinney claimed that spending for the NHS in Scotland would be "at the heart" of the forthcoming budget in order to support the "vital and precious" nature of the NHS.^[44]

In response to the critical incident declared in NHS Grampian, Swinney urged members of the public instead to vitalise other NHS services in order to access the right care at the quicker pace in order to reduce pressure on hospitals. Swinney stated that services such as "NHS Inform can be used in order to reduce demand on hospitals".^[44]

On 4 December 2024, Swinney's Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government Shona Robison delivered the Scottish budget for 2025 to the Scottish Parliament. In the budget, Robison pledged that the Scottish Government would end the two child benefit cap in 2026. Additionally, record spending for the National Health Service in Scotland was announced, with £21 billion being earmarked for the NHS in order to reduce waiting times and to ensure access to GPs was easier for the public. Additional measures announced in the budget included extra winter payments for the elderly, funding to tackle the climate emergency and scrapping the council tax freeze.^[45]

Opposition parties in the Scottish Parliament were critical of the budget, with Scottish Labour stating that the government was "going in the wrong direction", whilst the Scottish Conservatives claimed that budget was "more of the same" from previous budgets set by the Scottish Government.^[45]

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".^[46]

In December 2024, Scotland hosted the 42nd British–Irish Council summit in Edinburgh which was led by Swinney as first minister. During the summit, Swinney welcomed the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Taoiseach Simon Harris, the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, the heads of government of Jersey, the Isle of Man and Guernsey, as well as the first minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan to Edinburgh for discussions on net zero and economic growth.^[47]

In December 2024, Swinney and President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke via telephone in which Swinney congratulated Trump on his election victory. The call was requested by Trump's associates and during the conversation both Swinney and Trump discussed trade, cultural ties and the importance of the American trading market to Scotland. Swinney stated that he was "hopeful" that both Scotland and the United States would "continue to work together". Swinney had previously backed Trump's rival, Kamala Harris, for the 2024 United States presidential election.^[48]

#	Country	Areas visited	Dates	Details[49]
1	Germany	Munich	14 June 2024	During his inaugural visit to Germany, Swinney met with the Bavarian Minister of State for Europe and International Affairs, Eric Beißwenger and Jill Gallard, the UK Ambassador to Germany. Swinney also attended the opening match of the Scotland national football team against the German national football team in the opening match of UEFA Euro 2024[50]