SNP leadership race: John Swinney announces bid to succeed Humza Yousaf as Scotland’s first minister
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 in Edinburgh on Thursday. Pic: PA
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.”
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‘I want to unite the SNP and Scotland’
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.”
John Swinney pictured following Humza Yousaf’s resignation. Pic: PA
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.
Nicola Sturgeon and John Swinney during FMQs earlier this year. Pic: PA
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.”
Humza Yousaf announcing his resignation at Bute House. Pic: PA
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Humza Yousaf announcing his resignation
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.”
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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.
Plans for cuts to benefits which will impact more than three million households will be published today – as the government faces a battle to convince dozens of Labour MPs to back them.
Liz Kendall, the welfare secretary, has set out proposals to cut £5bn from the welfare budget – which she has said is “unsustainable” and “trapping people in welfare dependency”.
Disabled people claiming PIP, the personal independence payment which helps people – some of them working – with the increased costs of daily living, face having their awards reviewed from the end of next year.
An estimated 800,000 current and future PIP recipients will lose an average of £4,500 a year, according to a government assessment.
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Government’s battle over welfare reforms
The government also intends to freeze the health element of Universal Credit, claimed by more than two million people, at £97 a week during this parliament, and cut the rate to £50 for new claimants.
Under pressure from Labour MPs concerned particularly that changes to PIP will drive families into poverty, Ms Kendall will announce new protections in the bill today.
Sky News understands they include a 13-week transition period for those losing PIP; a higher rate of Universal Credit for people with the most serious conditions; and a commitment that disabled people who take a job will not immediately lose their benefits.
Some 40 Labour MPs have signed a letter refusing to support the cuts; and dozens of others have concerns, including ministers.
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Benefits cuts explained
Ms Kendall is determined to press ahead, and has said the number of new PIP claimants has doubled since 2019 – at 34,000, up from 15,000.
Ministers say 90% of current claimants will not lose their benefits; and that many people will be better off – with the total welfare bill set to continue to rise over this parliament.
To keep the benefit, claimants must score a minimum of four points out of eight on one of the daily living criteria.
Ministers say claimants with the most serious conditions, who cannot work, will not face constant reassessments.
A £1bn programme is proposed, intended to give disabled people who can work tailored support to find jobs.
Some Labour MPs have angrily opposed the reforms – which will be voted on later this month.
Last night in a parliamentary debate, Labour MP for Poole Neil Duncan-Jordan disputed the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) figures.
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He said: “We already know that PIP is an underclaimed benefit. The increase in claims is a symptom of declining public health and increased financial hardship disabled people are facing.
“We have the same proportion of people on working-age benefits as in 2015. This is not an economic necessity, it’s a political choice.”
Liz Kendall
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York, called the proposals “devastating “. She said: “We must change direction and not proceed with these cuts.”
Disability groups say they fear an increase in suicides and mental health conditions.
The government’s own assessment forecast an extra 250,000 people could be pushed into poverty – including 50,000 children. It did not include the impact of people moving into work.
Ms Kendall was urged by MPs on the Commons Work and Pensions committee to delay the reforms, to carry out an impact assessment, but wrote back to the committee saying the reforms were too urgent to delay – and that MPs would be able to amend the legislation.
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