Former Deputy First Minister Iain Swinney Seeks to Become Scotland’s New Prime Minister Amid SNP Crisis

Politics

Iain Swinney wants the new Prime Minister of Scotland. He would face a difficult task as his SNP party is in crisis.

More recent news

Three days later the The Prime Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, has resigned The former Deputy Prime Minister, John Swinney, announced that he is applying for the position. The man, who is 60, told supporters in Edinburgh on Thursday that he wanted to be the new leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) and therefore Prime Minister of Scotland. His aim is to “unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence”. Great Britain.

Yousaf announced his resignation as Scottish Prime Minister on Monday after just 13 months in office, throwing two votes of no confidence. The SNP’s junior partner in government, the Scottish Greens, left the coalition in a dispute over climate policy. Yousaf wants to remain in office until a successor is found for him at the head of the party and the government.

An old friend of Scotland

Swinney had already led the SNP from 2000 to 2004. Candidates to succeed Yousaf have until Monday to announce their candidacy.

Another possible candidate is former Finance Minister Kate Forbes. Last year she was defeated in the power struggle by Yousaf. Her conservative positions could stand again on the 34-year-old getting enough support in the party.

In his acceptance speech, Swinney praised Forbes as an “intelligent, creative, thoughtful person” who could play an “important role” on his government team. This could suggest that the two have come to an agreement to avoid another bitter power struggle in the SNP.

The party is in crisis

If Swinney was elected party leader, he would still be responsible for forming a parliamentary majority for his government, as the SNP does not have an outright majority in the Scottish Parliament .

The Scottish independence movement around the SNP is in crisis right now. About ten days ago, former SNP leader Peter Murrell was accused of giving £600,000 (€699,000) in donations which were actually intended for the independence campaign to of Scotland.

His wife and deputy Nicola Sturgeon was also in June 2023 was arrested in connection with the casebut the charges against her were dropped and she was released.

Support for independence has fallen

In a referendum in 2014, Scots voted 55 percent against independence from Britain. After the Brexit vote in 2016, which failed to find a majority in Scotland, Sturgeon put the issue back on the agenda.

“This is how the editorial team works” tells you when and what we report, how we deal with errors and where our content comes from. When we report, we adhere to the guidelines of Press Trust Initiative.