Scottish parliament staff will no longer be allowed to wear rainbow lanyards or pins and badges at Holyrood that show support for social movements or campaigns.
The announcement follows a review of the code of conduct for Scottish Parliamentary Service (SPS) staff.
The ban will apply to Scottish parliament staff, not MSPs or their workers.
The move was confirmed in the chamber on Thursday by MSP Claire Baker, a member of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB).
Ms Baker said: “Corporate body staff must conduct themselves in an impartial manner.
“As an update, corporate body staff have until recently been allowed to wear personalised lanyards. This was introduced in 2017 as part of diversity inclusion strategy.
“However, a review of the code of conduct has just been completed.
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“A decision has been taken that all staff must wear the parliament-issued purple lanyard – staff who are employed by corporate body.
“This decision will help to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our own decision-making.”
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An email sent on Wednesday to Scottish parliament staff by Lorna Foreman, group head for people and culture, said the policy change would begin with immediate effect and all group heads are “expected to support this”.
The staff now must wear a parliament-issued purple lanyard and remove any pins or badges showing support for social movements and towards any campaigns or organisations.
Ms Foreman said: “Wearing personalised lanyards and/or pins and badges showing support for social movements and towards campaigns or organisations has led some organisations and individuals to consider that the SPS cannot be impartial when supporting the parliament to debate government policy, proposed new laws and current significant societal issues.
“This decision will help to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our own decision-making.”
Ms Foreman accepted it will be “difficult for some colleagues” but the parliament remains committed to “creating a culture where all people feel safe, valued, included, and able to be their best at work”.
A Scottish parliament spokesperson said: “This decision will help minimise the risk of perceived bias.
“It will also help avoid any potential misperception over the absolute impartiality of all Scottish parliamentary staff.”
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Ex-finance secretary Kate Forbes had been tipped to join him, but has since announced she does not intend to stand and will throw her support behind Mr Swinney.
Who is John Swinney?
Edinburgh-born Mr Swinney has spent a year on the backbenches after he stepped down as deputy first minister when Nicola Sturgeon resigned in 2023.
The 60-year-old first joined the SNP in 1979 at the age of 15. He became a prominent figure in the party’s youth wing before climbing the ranks to become the SNP’s national secretary at the age of 22.
Mr Swinney has been an MSP since the Scottish parliament’s inception in 1999, serving North Tayside, and previously representing the same constituency at Westminster in 1997.
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The Perthshire North MSP, who was also finance secretary under Alex Salmond’s government, is said by his supporters to have the experience needed to lead the country following Mr Yousaf’s departure.
He took over from Mr Salmond as SNP leader in 2000, but resigned in 2004 following poor European parliament election results.
Under Ms Sturgeon, he occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, COVID-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Kate Forbes during her maternity leave.
During his time as Ms Sturgeon’s deputy, he cemented his reputation as a dogged defender of his boss, as well as an SNP stalwart.
However, he faced two close no-confidence votes in Holyrood, first over the handling of school exams during the pandemic, and then his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.
He ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race to replace Ms Sturgeon, citing that he had to put his young family first.
Within hours of Mr Yousaf’s resignation, several senior figures within the SNP voiced their support for Mr Swinney, including the party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, education secretary Jenny Gilruth, and MPs Pete Wishart, Ian Blackford and Alyn Smith.
Announcing his intention to enter the SNP leadership race, Mr Swinney admitted that his party is “not as cohesive as it needs to be” to achieve its goal of Scottish independence.
He added: “I believe I have the experience, the skills, and I command the trust and the confidence of people across this country to bring the SNP back together again and get us focused on what we do best – uniting Scotland, delivering for the people and working to create the best future for our country.”
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John Swinney announcing his leadership bid. Pic: PA
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If elected, Mr Swinney said he wants Ms Forbes to “play a significant part” in his government.
He said: “She is an intelligent, creative, thoughtful person who has much to contribute to our national life. And if elected, I will make sure that Kate is able to make that contribution.”
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