How John Swinney has revealed his deep contempt for democracy since the election
If John Swinney is First Minister for all Scotland, he should be willing to deal with Reform Scotland leader Malcolm Offord
It is my sad duty to inform readers that despite considerable pushback on him and his party, John Swinney has not learned anything from last week’s Holyrood election. It is convenient for many to see the SNP’s performance as a success. Yet it is not as simple as that. Strangely, for all his party’s celebrations, at the same time as seeing his support falling, Swinney will remain First Minister and form yet another SNP administration.
If he has noticed that the tide has turned against him, I can only conclude the First Minister has chosen wilfully to continue sowing division across Scotland. Why else would he not take stock to begin healing the wounds that 19 tortuous years of nationalist rule have caused?
Winning a record fifth consecutive election is no mean feat, especially against the mounting evidence of repeated incompetence, huge monetary waste, failing public services and scandals of personal behaviour and financial impropriety.
That’s where the achievements end. Swinney had called for an endorsement of a referendum by winning an overall majority but instead of meeting the requirement of just one additional MSP he fell back by six. Yes, the SNP gained two new MSPs but it also lost eight, falling from 64 to 58; with the number of votes dropping by a whopping 414,127 and its vote-share reduced from 47.7 to 38.2 per cent.
At any other time those results would be seen as bad and calls for Swinney’s replacement would be bubbling up to eventually consume him. That is not going to happen. Yet.
Swinney has done what was asked of him. He has steadied the ship, which now carries on steaming forwards to its eternal destination, still taking on water and now without charts or a compass. Swinney’s colourless and pedestrian leadership has served its purpose.
The direction of travel against him and his unimaginative policy offerings cannot forever be denied and so the men in grey kilts will eventually come for him. He will not lead the SNP into the next Holyrood election in 2031 and it will be considered advantageous to maximise the time available for a new leader to build momentum that might continue the SNP dynasty.
Swinney could go quietly, building a reputation as a conciliator by healing the electoral wounds that are inevitably inflicted during elections and soothing the divisions that open up. As I say, however, he has learned nothing and has chosen to continue to operate as if the election is not over, and never shall be over. Instead he’s chosen an approach that is the political equivalent of total war, for it turns out he is no democrat.
Firstly, Swinney will continue to stoke the fires of division against Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom against the settled will expressed in the 2014 referendum – rather than focussing on saving our public services. Looking at the consensus of what the competing parties were offering, that represents a direct repudiation of last Thursday’s democratic vote.
Secondly, having set out a categorical demand for an overall SNP majority to obtain a political mandate for a referendum, Swinney has within days chosen to repudiate the Scottish electorate’s rejection of his core policy by seeking support from the Scottish Green party to keep demands for a referendum alive. He will do this knowing full well there is no moral, political or legal case for a referendum.
Swinney had previously made it explicit that a political mandate would only be attached to SNP success, not the joint success of the SNP and Green parties – but that has now been conveniently forgotten.
The total support for the SNP and Greens amounted to 947,913 votes – only 41.2 per cent of the total cast, with the balance of some 58 per cent going to pro-Union parties. That was actually a fall from 48.4 per cent in the joint SNP/Green vote in 2021.
Then, thirdly, in seeking to appear as some mythical father of the nation, leading his country to the sunlit glens of independence, Swinney has invited leaders of the other parties to discuss with him shared opportunities where they might work together – but intentionally left out Reform leader Malcolm Offord.
Here again is Swinney repudiating Scottish democracy. While he presents himself as the First Minister “for all of Scotland”, he belittles as valueless the 385,000 voters supporting Reform and does not have the grace to recognise their 17 MSPs. It says everything about Swinney that despite Offord’s willingness to give support to economic measures that might improve Scottish jobs and prosperity, he prefers to isolate and “other” ordinary Scottish people looking for change.
For a new party to move from only 0.2 to 16.6 per cent of the vote and 17 MSPs suggests he should in particular be having a discussion with Offord as a leader of the opposition – rather than the leaders of Sinn Fein.
The turnout in the Holyrood election has fallen, the SNP’s vote share has fallen, the number of people voting SNP has fallen and the number of SNP MSPs elected has fallen. Swinney has a duty to listen to all the leaders of the opposition parties and learn why he is fortunate to be about to become First Minister despite himself and his party.
By his actions after the election, Swinney has shown a deep contempt for democracy in Scotland. No lower has any other party leader ever sank in carrying out the office of Scottish First Minister.
Brian Monteith is a former member of the Scottish and European parliaments and editor of ThinkScotland.org
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