John Swinney has emerged as the clear favourite to be Scotland’s next First Minister.
This morning, the former Deputy First Minister announced his candidacy for the leadership of the ruling SNP, following the sudden resignation of Humza Yousaf on Monday.
The 60-year-old is Scotland’s longest serving and most experienced parliamentarian, having been first elected as an MP in 1997 and served as a cabinet minister for 16 years.
He was previously leader of the SNP between 2000 and 2004 but resigned following poor election results.
When Nicola Sturgeon quit the top job last year, Mr Swinney said he had hoped to quit frontline politics for some time.
Since then, Ms Sturgeon has been arrested as part of a police investigation into the SNP’s finances, the Labour Party has overtaken the nationalists in the polls and a coalition with the pro-independence Scottish Greens has collapsed.
“I care too much about the future of Scotland and the Scottish National Party to walk on by,” Mr Swinney said.
“Having joined the SNP as a teenager, having helped bring my party from the fringes of politics to being the Government of Scotland, having served as a senior minister for 16 years, and having helped steer Scotland so close to independence in 2014, I want to give all that I have in me to ensure the success of our cause.”
He also pledged to "unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence", while admitting the party has not been "cohesive" enough recently to persuade Scots they are better off leaving the United Kingdom.
Pleased to join so many supporters, members, councillors and parliamentarians of @theSNP in welcoming the candidacy of @JohnSwinney to become next party leader and Scotland's First Minister. pic.twitter.com/f6xfWiJkB0
— Angus Robertson (@AngusRobertson) May 2, 2024
Following his campaign launch, Mr Swinney’s main rival Kate Forbes announced she would not be standing and endorsed him instead.
Ms Forbes, a young, Gaelic-speaking, evangelical Christian polled 48% in last year’s leadership contest and remains popular with the party membership.
It is expected she will be offered a senior position in a Cabinet led by Mr Swinney, which she hinted at in her statement to the press.
“I have therefore weighed the decision whether or not to seek the leadership of the party with great care,” she said.
“Ultimately, I have concluded that the best way to deliver the urgent change Scotland needs is to join with John Swinney and advocate for that reform agenda within the Scottish Government.”
With no other candidate expected to enter the race, it is likely Mr Swinney will be elected SNP leader unopposed and he will then be voted in as First Minister by members of the Scottish Parliament.
Main image: John Swinney. Picture by: Alamy.com
