SNP leadership race: John Swinney announces bid to succeed Humza Yousaf as Scotland’s first minister

Published

1 year ago

May 2, 2024

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John Swinney has announced his bid to take over from Humza Yousaf as SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister.

The Perthshire North MSP has spent a year on the backbenches after he stepped down as deputy first minister when Nicola Sturgeon resigned in 2023.

Announcing his intention to run for first minister during a visit to Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh on Thursday, he said: “I want to build on the work of the SNP government to create a modern, diverse, dynamic Scotland that will ensure opportunities for all of our citizens.

“I want to unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence.”

Mr Swinney accepted that the SNP is “not as cohesive as it needs to be” to achieve its goal of Indyref2.

He said: “That has to change. I could have stood back and hoped others would sort things out, but I care too much about the future of Scotland and the Scottish National Party to walk on by.”

Highlighting how he joined the SNP as a teenager and has served as a senior minister for 16 years, 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.”

The search is currently on to find a new leader for the SNP and Scotland following Mr Yousaf’s resignation on Monday.

Within hours of his 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.

Former finance secretary Kate Forbes is expected to give a statement later on Thursday. She is being tipped as a potential frontrunner to join the leadership race.

Mr Swinney said: “We have many talented people leading the work of the Scottish government. I want Kate Forbes to play a significant part in that team.

“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.

“And that will be part of a united team that draws together our whole party, which given my deep, deep devotion to the SNP, I think I am best placed to put together.”

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.

The politician, 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.

Under Ms Sturgeon, he occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, COVID-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Ms 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 his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

The former SNP leader – who resigned from that post in 2004 following poor European parliament election results – ruled himself out of the 2023 leadership race to replace Ms Sturgeon, citing that he had to put his young family first.

But he said today: “One of the benefits of stepping back from frontline politics a year ago is that I’ve had the time and the opportunity to see our political situation from a different perspective than before.”

Mr Swinney said the SNP had achieved a “huge amount” for the people of Scotland, highlighting his pride in the Scottish child payment, free university tuition and the “massive expansion” of childcare.

He said SNP policies “lift children from poverty, give them a better start in life and enable them to go to university”.

He added: “Only the SNP stand with the majority of people who want their government to be in the moderate centre-left of Scottish politics.

“That is where I stand. And if elected by my party and by parliament, my goals as first minister will come straight from that centre-left tradition.

“The pursuit of economic growth and social justice. Economic growth not for its own sake, but to support the services and the society we all want to see.

“I will pursue priorities that will make Scotland the best our country can be as a modern, innovative, dynamic nation.”

Mr Swinney said further action must be taken to raise more children out of poverty.

He also said the climate emergency is a “real and present threat to our society” and an approach to net zero must be designed that takes “people and businesses with us”.

Raising the topic of independence, he said: “I’ve believed all of my adult life that Scotland’s future is best served as an independent country. But I recognise that more people need to be convinced of that point before independence can be achieved.

“I want to focus my efforts on reaching out in Scotland with respect and courtesy to address the obstacles in the way of winning the case for independence – to persuade people that Scotland’s future is best served with the powers of independence.”

Speaking to Sky News on Wednesday, Mr Yousaf said any suggestion of him being forced out of office to make way for Mr Swinney was “complete and utter rubbish”.

And Mr Swinney said today: “I am no caretaker. I am no interim leader.”

He added that he intends to lead the SNP beyond the next general election and the 2026 Scottish parliament election, stating: “So, my message is crisp and simple – I’m stepping forward to bring the SNP together to deliver economic growth and social justice, to deliver the very best future for everyone in a modern, dynamic, diverse Scotland.

“I want to unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence. I invite everyone in the SNP and in our country who wants to join me in that journey to do so now.”

Nominations for SNP leader close at noon on Monday 6 May.

Prospective candidates will have to gain the support of 100 members from 20 different SNP branches to qualify for the contest.

Any potential ballot will then open at 12pm on Monday 13 May and will close at noon on Monday 27 May.

Politics

Russia arrests Blum co-founder Vladimir Smerkis on fraud charges

Published

4 hours ago

May 19, 2025

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Russia arrests Blum co-founder Vladimir Smerkis on fraud charges

Vladimir Smerkis, a co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto project Blum, has reportedly been arrested in Moscow, Russia, on fraud allegations, amid Blum confirming he is no longer affiliated with the project.

The Zamoskvoretsky District Court of Moscow approved a request from investigators to keep Smerkis in custody while he is being investigated, Russian state-owned news outlet TASS reported on May 18.

Smerkis — who previously ran operations for Binance in Russia — is suspected of committing fraud on a “large scale,” pursuant to Article 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, violations of which can result in imprisonment ranging from two to 12 years.

It isn’t clear if charges have been filed against Smerkis.

Russian news outlet Mash tied the fraud allegations against Smerkis to his involvement in The Token Fund and Tokenbox crypto ventures that he co-founded in 2017, where investors reportedly suffered combined losses of around $15 million.

Blum, which is not involved in The Token Fund and Tokenbox ventures, wrote to X on May 18 that Smerkis resigned from his role as the firm’s chief marketing officer and would no longer be involved in the project in any capacity.

Blum said its team remains fully committed and focused on its goals and that its day-to-day operations would continue as usual.

Blum is a crypto project that integrates a decentralized exchange into Telegram Mini Apps, enabling users to trade crypto, earn rewards and participate in token airdrops.

No Smerkis, no BLUM token?

The incident sparked concerns that Blum’s token airdrop won’t follow through as planned.

In an April 3 X post, Blum hinted at a potential BLUM token listing in the third quarter of this year.

Blum users could receive BLUM tokens by earning Blum points in its newly launched Drop Game, where users tap on snowflakes falling from their mobile phone screen, and convert those points into tokens during the project’s slated token generation event.

However, the news of Smerkis’ arrest appears to have shaken community confidence that the BLUM token airdrop will happen.

“Blum owes its users a clarification on the planned airdrop,” one X user and Blum community member said, while crypto influencer RK Gupta added:

“No airdrop. No updates. Just silence. Was it all for nothing?”

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Politics

Pavel Durov rejects EU pressure to censor Romanian election content

Published

9 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Pavel Durov rejects EU pressure to censor Romanian election content

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said he rejected pressure from a European Union (EU) country to censor political content on the social media platform ahead of the May 18 presidential elections in Romania.

According to Durov, a Western European government, which he hinted at with a baguette emoji, approached the platform and requested it censor conservative voices, which he flatly denied. Durov wrote in a May 18 Telegram post:

“You can’t ‘defend democracy’ by destroying democracy. You can’t ‘fight election interference’ by interfering with elections. You either have freedom of speech and fair elections — or you don’t. And the Romanian people deserve both.”

The Telegram founder is an ardent defender of free speech, who is highly regarded in the crypto community for his stances on freedom of expression, autonomy, privacy, and individual liberty.

Durov thrust into the spotlight following arrest in France

Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024, sparking widespread condemnation from the crypto community and free speech advocates worldwide, who accused the French government of orchestrating a politically-motivated arrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron denied the arrest was political while claiming the French government was “committed to freedom of expression and communication” in an August 26 X post.

“You can’t keep founders personally liable, and charge them up to 20 years, for not moderating speech, and at the same time claim you are deeply committed to freedom of expression,” Helius Labs CEO Mert Mumtaz wrote in response to Macron.

Shortly after Durov’s arrest, Chris Pavlovski, the CEO of Rumble — a free speech online video platform — announced that he safely departed the European Union after France threatened Rumble.

The CEO also criticized the French government for the arrest of the Telegram co-founder, characterizing it as an attempt to pressure him into censoring speech on the platform.

Durov maintains that Telegram complies with lawful information requests made by law enforcement officials and said that the company has a legal representative in France who handles such requests.

The Telegram co-founder also criticized the French government for bypassing the legal representative and choosing to issue an arrest warrant instead.

Magazine: Did Telegram’s Pavel Durov commit a crime? Crypto lawyers weigh in

Politics

Post-Brexit EU reset negotiations ‘going to the wire’, says minister

Published

17 hours ago

May 18, 2025

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Post-Brexit EU reset negotiations 'going to the wire', says minister

Negotiations to reset the UK’s post-Brexit relationship with the EU are going “to the wire”, a Cabinet Office minister has said.

“There is no final deal as yet. We are in the very final hours,” the UK’s lead negotiator Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips.

On the possibility of a youth mobility scheme with the EU, he insisted “nothing is agreed until everything is”.

“We would be open to a smart, controlled youth mobility scheme,” he said. “But I should set out, we will not return to freedom of movement.”

Politics latest: PM outlines ‘benefits’ for UK from closer EU ties

The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday.

Put to the minister that the government could not guarantee there will be a deal by tomorrow afternoon, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Nobody can guarantee anything when you have two parties in a negotiation.”

But the minister said he remained “confident” a deal could be reached “that makes our borders more secure, is good for jobs and growth, and brings people’s household bills down”.

“That is what is in our national interest and that’s what we will continue to do over these final hours,” he said.

“We have certainly been taking what I have called a ruthlessly pragmatic approach.”

On agricultural products, food and drink, Mr Thomas-Symonds said supermarkets were crying out for a deal because the status quo “isn’t working”, with “lorries stuck for 16 hours and food rotting” and producers and farmers unable to export goods because of the amount of “red tape”.

Asked how much people could expect to save on shopping as a result of the deal the government was hoping to negotiate, the minister was unable to give a figure.

On the issue of fishing, asked if a deal would mean allowing French boats into British waters, the minister said the Brexit deal which reduced EU fishing in UK waters by a quarter over five years comes to an end next year.

He said the objectives now included “an overall deal in the interest of our fishers, easier access to markets to sell our fish and looking after our oceans”.

Turning to borders, the minister was asked if people would be able to move through queues at airports faster.

Again, he could not give a definitive answer, but said it was “certainly something we have been pushing with the EU… we want British people who are going on holiday to be able to go and enjoy their holiday, and not be stuck in queues”.

PM opens door to EU youth mobility scheme

A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.

The European Commission has proposed opening negotiations with the UK on an agreement to facilitate youth mobility between the EU and the UK. The scheme would allow both UK and EU citizens aged between 18 and 30 years old to stay for up to four years in a country of their choosing.

Earlier this month, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Phillips a youth mobility scheme was not the approach the government wanted to take to bring net migration down.

When this was put to him, Mr Thomas-Symonds insisted any deal on a youth mobility scheme with Europe will have to be “smart” and “controlled” and will be “consistent” with the government’s immigration policy.

Asked what the government had got in return for a youth mobility scheme – now there had been a change in approach – the minister said: “It is about an overall balanced package that works for Britain. The government is 100% behind the objective of getting net migration down.”

Phillips said more than a million young people came to the country between 2004 and 2015. “If there isn’t a cap – that’s what we are talking about,” he said.

The minister insisted such a scheme would be “controlled” – but refused to say whether there would be a cap.

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‘It’s going to be a bad deal’

Shadow cabinet office minister Alex Burghart told Phillips an uncapped youth mobility scheme with the EU would lead to “much higher immigration”, adding: “It sounds very much as though it’s going to be a bad deal.”

Asked if the Conservatives would scrap any EU deal, he said: “It depends what the deal is, Trevor. And we still, even at this late stage, we don’t know.

“The government can’t tell us whether everyone will be able to come. They can’t tell us how old the young person is. They can’t tell us what benefits they would get.

“So I think when people hear about a youth mobility scheme, they think about an 18-year-old coming over working at a bar. But actually we may well be looking at a scheme which allows 30-year-olds to come over and have access to the NHS on day one, to claim benefits on day one, to bring their extended families.”

He added: “So there are obviously very considerable disadvantages to the UK if this deal is done in the wrong way.”

Jose Manuel Barroso, former EU Commission president, told Phillips it “makes sense” for a stronger relationship to exist between the European Union and the UK, adding: “We are stronger together.”

He said he understood fishing and youth mobility are the key sticking points for a UK-EU deal.

“Frankly, what is at stake… is much more important than those specific issues,” he said.