Swinney poised for coronation as SNP leader and Scotland’s new first minister

Swinney poised for coronation as SNP leader and Scotland’s new first minister

please show your appreciation for John swinny last year he said he didn’t want to be first Minister this morning John swinny was passionately campaigning for the role 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 but will he just be keeping a seat warm in the short term I am no caretaker I am no interim leader I’m offering to lead my party through the Westminster elections and to lead us beyond the 2026 elections two contests which I intend to win for the SNP and for Scotland this was a room filled with his supporters but uniting his wider party won’t be easy and has involved reaching out to his main rival Kate Forbes we have many talented people leading the work of the Scottish government I want Kate Forbes to play a significant part in that team what you stop you from we weren’t told exactly what job Cape Forbes may have been offered but within 4 hours the contest was off the former Finance secretary cleared the way for John swinny rowing in behind him ruling herself out she posted a statement saying ultimately I have concluded that the best way to deliver the Urgent change Scotland needs is to join with John SMY and add for vate for that reform agenda within the Scottish government it could mean a coronation for a man who last led the SNP two decades ago and served a long stint as Nicholas sturgeon’s Deputy pictured here with Ian Blackford when they were teenagers the SNP runs through his veins our Unity must start at this conference Here and Now some see him as the past of the party rather than the future but others will breathe size of relief ahead of a general election a bruising S&P leadership contest is now likely to be avoided it’s clear that the SNP just like the Tories think that the highest Office of the land is a revolving door that it’s the gift of one political party and internal stitch up and managing their own political party is more important than running our country the SNP canot not give us stable competent Effective Government they are chaotic they are divided they are dysfunctional and that’s why we need change and that change can only come with an election so I think by not having Ash Regan ran to be SNP leader last year before defecting to Alex Salmon’s Alba party I think there is a potential here that this is part of a back room deal where the green party are vetting the next first Minister John swiny looks set to be crowned Scotland’s seventh first Minister next week every move will be closely scrutinized after a month of Chaos can he really Turn the Page well John spinny told me today he is making a personal Sacrifice by standing he is someone who really did try to retire from Frontline politics last year he has personal reasons to do so his wife has Ms he cares for her so it says a lot about where the party had got to and how much pressure he was being put under by senior figures to run at that campaign launch in edar this morning I spoke to him and asked him about the challenges he’s now likely to face that speech sounded very much like a job offer to Kate Forbes what are you offering are you offering Deputy first Minister we’re getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves I’m not you must though I’m not yet I’m not yet the leader of the SNP and I’m not yet the first minister of Scotland and the answer to that question can be offered by the first minister of Scotland so I’ve talked to Kate of course I’ve Tau her because I want to make her understand and appr appreciate there’s a big role for her in my team I want Kate to hear that message loud and clear you must discuss what that role is finance well we’ll we we’ll we’ll come on to all of those questions in the fullness of time I just wonder Kate Forbes is somebody who went on TV in the leadership campaign last year she trashed Hamza yusf she criticized the record of the government that you would be leading how will other people in this party feel about you bringing her back into the fold everyone’s got to come back together again everyone and we’ve just got how you feel about that I well I just think we’ve got to move on that’s how I feel about it we’ve just got to move on and get on with it and the thing that encourages me is the polling that shows that either me or Kate Forbes are viewed by the public as being better placed to be first minister of Scotland by a country mile compared to Anna sa and Douglas Ross isn’t it time to have a Hollywood election no because we operate in a fixed term Parliament parliament’s established for 5 years that’s what the law says and the law accepts that it times leadership will change so that’s what’s happening just now within a fixed-term par when Li trust went Nicholas sergeon says a general election was a democratic imperative was she wrong about that well let’s trust had completely and utterly trash the economy so are you saying hums useless record was perfect so therefore we don’t need an election here well look trust trashed the UK economy let’s just think about that sentence LZ trust trashed the UK economy no wonder there were calls for the call was about the Tories just crowning new leaders you could be about to be crowned a new leader shouldn’t there be an election you could put down a motion and ask for one you get labor back you let’s let’s let’s wait and see what comes out of the process over the next few days you have the nickname Honest John is it dishonest though to suggest you will be a first Minister that can deliver another Independence referendum yeah I I am going to do everything I possibly can do to deliver Scottish independence I’ve devoted my adult life to that objective and we came very very close in 2014 to achieving that theout what are you going to do are you going to ask here starmer for a section 30 the the roote for me is to engage with the public in Scotland to build support for Independence so if K starmer gets into Downing Street you will ask him for another Independence what I’m saying to you is it’s a democratic outrage for the right of people in Scotland to decide their own future to be resisted by Westminster and we’ve got to build the campaign and the momentum and the mood within Scotland that makes that unavoidable John S thank you thank you and Katherine is still with us Katherine he looked quite relaxed there despite your best efforts is the drama now all over well Matt it’s been a day it’s been a week it’s been a month here um it does look like we are in the end game but I don’t think anyone in Scottish politics can sleep quite silly in their beds just yet uh nominations don’t close until Monday there is a small possibility that someone else decides to throw their hat in perhaps an activist angry at the lack of contest uh someone like that assuming that doesn’t happen though we are looking now at a free run for John swiny to become first Minister he’s likely to be first Minister by this time next week now for that to happen he has to be formally voted in by the Scottish Parliament what’s interesting about that is for Kate Forbes that would have been a struggle because she’d been highly unlikely to have got the backing of the Scottish greens so John swinny does offer a much more smooth transition I suppose then the conversation will turn to what kind of first Minister will John swiny be and there was a line in Kate Forbes statement today that really uh struck me she said John is determined to return the SNP to governing from the main stream as someone like Kate fors would certainly be Keen to push away from the influence the Scottish greens have exerted because of the power sharing deal over some key aspects of Scottish government policy not just Environmental Policy social issues too like gender reform it is going to take more than a few philome words of praise for Kate Forbes to fully win over her disappointed supporters but I think the sense is someone has to try and do that and the best place person is John swinny

As the saying goes: “Those who forget their history are condemned to repeat it.”

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Well the SNP has obviously learnt some harsh lessons from last year’s vicious leadership battle. Instead of plunging into another contest to see who will become party leader and Scotland’s first minister, they’ve seemingly chosen a consensual coronation instead.

Former leader John Swinney is the anointed one. And his showering of praise on would-be rival Kate Forbes, almost half his age, seems to have love-bombed her out of the race.

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