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John Swinney has been legally sworn in as Scotland’s seventh first minister.

The 60-year-old is now Keeper of the Scottish Seal, also known as the Great Seal, after taking the oath of office and pledging his allegiance to the King.

The seal allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each one.

As Keeper of the Scottish Seal, Mr Swinney now has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the crown, which effectively means he can lead the country with the support of the Scottish parliament.

John Swinney takes the oath as he is sworn in as First Minister of Scotland and Keeper of the Scottish Seal.
Pic PA
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Mr Swinney taking the oath. Pic: PA

John Swinney takes the oath as he is sworn in as First Minister of Scotland and Keeper of the Scottish Seal, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Picture date: Wednesday May 8, 2024.
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Pic: PA

John Swinney stands with the Seals of Scotland as he is sworn in as First Minister of Scotland and Keeper of the Scottish Seal, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Picture date: Wednesday May 8, 2024.
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Pic: PA

The ceremony took place at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in front of Scotland’s most senior judge, the Lord President Lord Carloway.

Mr Swinney’s family, including his wife Elizabeth, brother David, and 13-year-old son Matthew, accompanied him to court.

John Swinney poses for a photograph with his wife Elizabeth Quigley and son Matthew, 13, after he was sworn in as First Minister of Scotland and Keeper of the Scottish Seal, at the Court of Session in Edinburgh. Picture date: Wednesday May 8, 2024.
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Mr Swinney with wife Elizabeth and son Matthew. Pic: PA

Speaking to reporters after the ceremony, Mr Swinney said taking the oaths had been an “overwhelming moment” as he spoke of his pride at being first minister and his family’s support.

He said: “I look forward to dedicating my future to serving the people of Scotland.

“It’s an extraordinary opportunity to change lives for the better and I’ll continue to use every moment that’s available to me to do so.

“For my family this is a very abrupt change of our circumstances. We didn’t think this would happening about 10 days ago.”

John Swinney, with his wife Elizabeth Quigley, on the steps of Bute House in Edinburgh, the official residence of the First Minister, after he was voted by MSPs to be Scotland's next first minister, succeeding Humza Yousaf who formally resigned from the post earlier on Tuesday. Picture date: Tuesday May 7, 2024.
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Mr Swinney with his wife Elizabeth Quigley on the steps of Bute House on Tuesday. Pic: PA

Mr Swinney, who has replaced Humza Yousaf as SNP leader, is now expected to begin appointing his cabinet.

A “significant” role has been promised to former finance secretary Kate Forbes, who chose not to run in the SNP leadership race and instead threw her support behind Mr Swinney.

The first minister pledged to devote himself to the job after winning Holyrood’s backing. It came following the SNP leadership race in which he stood unopposed.

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Newly elected leader of the SNP John Swinney, with outgoing FM Humza Yousaf and former FM Nicola Sturgeon. Pic: PA
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Mr Swinney with former first ministers Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon. Pic: PA

Mr Swinney, who was deputy first minister under Nicola Sturgeon, previously said he is “no interim leader” and intends to lead the SNP beyond the next general and Scottish elections.

He has vowed to focus on the economy, jobs, the cost of living, the NHS, education, public services, and the climate crisis.

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Mr Swinney offers ‘eternal gratitude’ to his wife

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The first minister has confirmed he has no intention of reinstating the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens and will instead take issues on a case-by-case basis with a minority administration of 63 MSPs.

Mr Swinney told opposition parties at the Scottish parliament: “If we want to fund our schools and hospitals, if we want to give our businesses a competitive edge, if we want to take climate action, if we want to eradicate child poverty, if we want to change people’s lives for the better, we have got to work together to do so.”

He also thanked his wife Elizabeth, who has multiple sclerosis (MS), making clear his “profound eternal gratitude” to her for “the sacrifices she is prepared to make” so he could take on the job.

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Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

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Why Boris's best mate is off to Reform

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

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Starmer and Macron agree need for ‘new deterrent’ to stop small boat crossings

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Starmer and Macron agree need for 'new deterrent' to stop small boat crossings

Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have agreed the need for a “new deterrent” to deter small boats crossings in the Channel, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister met Mr Macron this afternoon as part of the French president’s state visit to the UK, which began on Tuesday.

High up the agenda for the two leaders is the need to tackle small boat crossings in the Channel, which Mr Macron said yesterday was a “burden” for both the UK and France.

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The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.

Sir Keir is hoping he can reach a deal for a one-in one-out return treaty with France, ahead of the UK-France summit on Thursday, which will involve ministerial teams from both nations.

The deal would see those crossing the Channel illegally sent back to France in exchange for Britain taking in any asylum seeker with a family connection in the UK.

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However, it is understood the deal is still in the balance, with some EU countries unhappy about France and the UK agreeing on a bilateral deal.

French newspaper Le Monde reports that up to 50 small boat migrants could be sent back to France each week, starting from August, as part of an agreement between Sir Keir and Mr Macron.

A statement from Downing Street said: “The prime minister met the French President Emmanuel Macron in Downing Street this afternoon.

“They reflected on the state visit of the president so far, agreeing that it had been an important representation of the deep ties between our two countries.

“Moving on to discuss joint working, they shared their desire to deepen our partnership further – from joint leadership in support of Ukraine to strengthening our defence collaboration and increasing bilateral trade and investment.”

It added: “The leaders agreed tackling the threat of irregular migration and small boat crossings is a shared priority that requires shared solutions.

“The prime minister spoke of his government’s toughening of the system in the past year to ensure rules are respected and enforced, including a massive surge in illegal working arrests to end the false promise of jobs that are used to sell spaces on boats.

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“The two leaders agreed on the need to go further and make progress on new and innovative solutions, including a new deterrent to break the business model of these gangs.”

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, seized on the statement to criticise Labour for scrapping the Conservatives’ Rwanda plan, which the Tories claim would have sent asylum seekers “entering the UK illegally” to Rwanda.

He said in an online post: “We had a deterrent ready to go, where every single illegal immigrant arriving over the Channel would be sent to Rwanda.

“But Starmer cancelled this before it had a chance to start.

“Now, a year later, he’s realised he made a massive mistake. That’s why numbers have surged and this year so far has been the worst in history for illegal channel crossings.

“Starmer is weak and incompetent and he’s lost control of our borders.”

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