John Swinney's former school teacher says ex-pupil 'must do better' in climate protest outside SNP conference
John Swinney’s former teacher turned up at the SNP conference - to protest against his record on tackling climate change.
John Swinney’s former school teacher has said the First Minister “must do better” on tackling the climate, as she protested outside the SNP conference.
Caroline Wilkinson taught Mr Swinney German at Forrester High School in Edinburgh from 1979 to 1980.
She joined others from the Edinburgh Climate Coalition to stage a protest outside the party’s annual conference at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) on Friday morning. Ms Wilkinson was dressed in a teacher’s gown and mortarboard and displaying a “report card” for the SNP, which graded the party ‘F’ and said: “Must try harder! Bottom of the class for climate policy.”
The group also displayed a blackboard with lines on it, which read: “I must try harder to protect the climate.”
Ms Wilkinson recalled her time teaching the First Minister, and said he was a “bright boy” who rallied his classmates to buy her a present when she was pregnant with her first child.
Speaking to The Scotsman outside the conference venue, Ms Wilkinson said: “I taught him German when he was 16. He was a very bright, intelligent boy and very nice.
“He noticed I was pregnant with my first child and he organised a whip-round the class to buy me a teddy bear.”
However, she added: “He must try harder - I don’t think the Government is doing enough.
“This climate mess is a disaster waiting to happen.”
The group was protesting against the Scottish Government’s decision earlier this year to ditch its 2030 climate targets.
Pete Cannell from the coalition was also at the protest. He said: “We are here to say to the SNP that their stepping back from climate targets is a very retrograde step.
“It is incompatible with the decision made a few years ago that there is a climate emergency by any objective measure. The problem is it is not just targets - actions need to be taken as well as investment to meet these targets.”
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