John Swinney

Scottish politician (born 1964)

John Swinney

MSP

Official portrait, 2016

Deputy First Minister of Scotland
In office
21 November 2014 – 28 March 2023
First Minister| Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by| Nicola Sturgeon
Succeeded by| Shona Robison
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy[a]
Acting[b]
16 July 2022 – 28 March 2023
First Minister| Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by| Kate Forbes
Succeeded by| Shona Robison (Finance)
Neil Gray (Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy)
In office
17 May 2007 – 18 May 2016
First Minister| Alex Salmond
Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by| Tom McCabe
Succeeded by|

* Derek Mackay
* Keith Brown

Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery
In office
20 May 2021 – 28 March 2023
First Minister| Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by| Office established
Succeeded by| Office abolished
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
In office
18 May 2016 – 20 May 2021
First Minister| Nicola Sturgeon
Preceded by|

* Angela Constance
* Roseanna Cunningham

Succeeded by| Shirley-Anne Somerville

Leadership offices

Leader of the Scottish National Party
In office
26 September 2000 – 3 September 2004
Deputy| Roseanna Cunningham
Preceded by| Alex Salmond
Succeeded by| Alex Salmond
Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party
In office
25 August 1998 – 26 September 2000
Leader| Alex Salmond
Preceded by| Allan Macartney
Succeeded by| Roseanna Cunningham

Parliamentary offices

Member of the Scottish Parliament
for Perthshire North
North Tayside (1999–2011)

Incumbent

Assumed office
6 May 1999
Preceded by| Constituency established
Majority| 3,336 (9.8%)
Member of Parliament
for Tayside North
In office
1 May 1997 – 14 May 2001
Preceded by| Bill Walker
Succeeded by| Pete Wishart

Personal details
Born|

John Ramsay Swinney

(1964-04-13) 13 April 1964 (age 60)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Political party| Scottish National Party
Spouses|

Lorna King

(m. 1991; div. 1998)​

Elizabeth Quigley

(m. 2003)​

Children| 3
Relatives| Tom Hunter (uncle)
Alma mater| University of Edinburgh
Website| Official website

John Ramsay Swinney (born 13 April 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2014 to 2023. He held various Scottish Cabinet roles under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon from 2007 to 2023. Swinney has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Perthshire North since 2011, having previously represented North Tayside from 1999 to 2011. He was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004.

Born in Edinburgh, Swinney graduated with a MA in politics at the University of Edinburgh. He joined the SNP at a young age and quickly rose to prominence serving as the National Secretary from 1986 to 1992 and Deputy Leader of the SNP from 1998 to 2000. Swinney served in the British House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001. He was elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament in 1999. After Alex Salmond resigned the party leadership in 2000, Swinney was elected Leader of the Scottish National Party in the ensuing leadership contest. He became Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament. Swinney's leadership proved ineffectual, with a loss of one MP in 2001 and a further reduction to 27 MSPs in 2003 despite the Officegate scandal unseating previous First Minister Henry McLeish. However, the only parties to gain seats in that election were the Scottish Greens and the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which, like the SNP, support independence. After an unsuccessful leadership challenge in 2003, Swinney stepped down following disappointing results in the 2004 European Parliament election with Salmond returning to the role in the subsequent 2004 leadership contest.

From 2004 to 2007, Swinney sat in the SNP's opposition backbench. In the 2007 Scottish election, the SNP won the highest number of seats in the Scottish Parliament and Salmond was subsequently appointed First Minister of Scotland. Swinney served under Salmond as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth from 2007 to 2014. After Nicola Sturgeon succeeded Salmond, she appointed Swinney as Deputy First Minister of Scotland in 2014. He also served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, until that role was divided into two posts in the second Sturgeon government as a result of the expansion of the Scottish Parliament's financial powers; he was then appointed Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills in 2016, and then as Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery in 2021. On 25 May 2022, Swinney became the longest serving Deputy First Minister, surpassing the previous record which was held by Sturgeon. Swinney served as Acting Finance and Economy Secretary in addition to his position of Covid Recovery Secretary from July 2022 to March 2023, covering the duties of Kate Forbes during her period of maternity leave. In March 2023, Swinney announced his resignation as Deputy First Minister in response to Sturgeon's resignation as First Minister.

Swinney spent the duration of Humza Yousaf's premiership on the backbenches and served as a member of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee. Following Yusaf's resignation in April 2024, Swinney is running to succeed him in the 2024 SNP leadership election, and has received endorsements from several senior SNP figures including Ian Blackford, Stephen Flynn and Kate Forbes. Swinney announced Forbes would receive a significant role in his government if elected.

## Early life[edit]

### Family, education and early career[edit]

John Ramsay Swinney was born on 13 April 1964[1] in the Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, the son of Kenneth Swinney, a garage manager,[2] and Agnes Weir Swinney (née Hunter).[3] His uncle Tom Hunter was awarded the Victoria Cross whilst serving with the Royal Marines during the Second World War.[4] His maternal grandparents, Ramsey and Mary Hunter, were from England, having moved to Edinburgh in the 1920s.[5][6]

He was educated at Forrester High School, before attending the University of Edinburgh, where he graduated with an Master of Arts Honours degree in politics in 1986.[7] Swinney was a research officer for the Scottish Coal Project from 1987 to 1988, a senior management consultant with Development Options from 1988 to 1992, and a strategic planning principal with Scottish Amicable Life Assurance from 1992 to 1997.[8]

### Early political involvement[edit]

Swinney joined the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1979 at the age of 15,[9] citing his anger at the way in which Scotland had been portrayed by television commentators at the Commonwealth Games.[10] He quickly became a prominent figure in the party's youth wing, the Young Scottish Nationalist, now known as the Young Scots for Independence (YSI).[11] He served as the SNP's Assistant National Secretary, before becoming the National Secretary in 1986, at the age of 22.[12]

He served as the national secretary until 1992, then vice convenor, later senior vice-convenor (deputy leader) from 1992 to 1997. At the time of the 1990 leadership contest he supported Margaret Ewing in her bid to become SNP leader, but this did not stop him becoming politically close to the man who went on to win that contest, Alex Salmond.[citation needed]

## Early political career[edit]

### House of Commons[edit]

Swinney's official parliamentary portrait, 1999

At the 1997 general election, he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the Tayside North constituency,[13] and in 1999 he was elected to represent the same area at the Scottish Parliament.

He stood down as a Westminster MP at the 2001 general election in order to avoid splitting his time, in line with all of his colleagues who found themselves in a similar 'dual mandate' position.

### Election to Holyrood[edit]

In 1999, Swinney was elected to the 1st Scottish Parliament, representing the North Tayside constituency.[14] In Salmond's opposition cabinet, he served as the Spokesman on Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. He also served on the Parliament's Finance Committee and was the Convener of the Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Committee.[15]

## Leadership of the Scottish National Party (2000–2004)[edit]

### Leadership bid[edit]

Main article: 2000 Scottish National Party leadership election

In 2000, Alex Salmond resigned as leader of the SNP,[16][17] which triggered a leadership contest.[18][19] Swinney ran in the election against Alex Neil.[20][21] The leadership contest was dominated by internal fights in the party between Gradualists, who advocated Scottish devolution as step towards independence, and Fundamentalists, who were suspicious of devolution and supported a more radical approach.[22][23] Swinney represented the gradualist wing and Neil represented the fundamentalists wing.[24][25] Whilst both candidates supported the position of the SNP on the centre-left, Neil was seen as the more left-wing of the two, and individuals associated with the Neil campaign argued that a Swinney leadership would drag the SNP to the right.[26][27][28]

Swinney won an overwhelming majority of votes by party delegates, securing 67.1% of votes.[29] He was appointed leader at the party's conference on 16 September 2000. Roseanna Cunningham, who endorsed Swinney in the leadership race, was elected Depute Leader.[30][31][32]

### Tenure[edit]

#### Internal party divisions[edit]

Swinney's leadership quickly came under challenge. His subdued style of debating technique was often contrasted with that of his more charismatic predecessor.[33] In 2002, Dorothy-Grace Elder, the SNP MSP for the Glasgow region, resigned her party membership after coming dissatisfied with the leadership of the SNP. She sat as an independent MSP, but Swinney called for her resignation, describing her actions as a "flout [of] the democratic will of the people of Glasgow".[34] Margo MacDonald, a fundamentalist within the SNP, voiced her lack of confidence in Swinney's leadership. MacDonald was placed fifth in the Lothians region for the 2003 Parliament election in the SNP's candidate selection, effectively ending her chances of being re-elected as an SNP MSP.[35] In protest, she ran instead as an independent candidate and was later expelled from the party.[36]

In 2003, a former parliamentary candidate and a party activist in the Shetland Islands Brian Nugent announced that he was forming his own pro-independence party, the Scottish Party, which eventually relaunched itself as the Free Scotland Party, in response to what he perceived to be an overly pro-EU stance by the SNP.[37][38]

#### 2001 UK and 2003 Scottish elections[edit]

Main articles: 2001 United Kingdom general election and 2003 Scottish Parliament election

Swinney speaking in a Scottish Parliament debate, June 2000

Swinney led the SNP through a poor election result at the 2001 UK General election.[39] The party failed to take any of their target seats and saw the loss of one of their MPs, reducing their representation at Westminster from six to five. In the Perth constituency, the Scottish Conservatives were 50 votes behind the SNP.[40][41] Although the SNP's vote share remained the second-largest party, behind Labour, their vote share fell by 2%.[42] Swinney's predecessor, Salmond, stated "consolidating as the second party in Scotland is no mean achievement" and highlighted it put the SNP in a good position for the upcoming Scottish Parliament election in 2003.[43] Following the results of the election, Swinney admitted there were "lessons to learn" and ensured the SNP would be the "principal opposition party in Scottish politics".[44]

In the 2003 election, the SNP performed poorly in yet another election, with the party's vote share dropping by 4.9%.[45] They lost eight of their seats they had gained in the previous election under the leadership of Salmond. Despite a poor result, this was also mirrored by the Scottish Labour Party, who lost six MSPs and their vote share dropped by 4.2%.[46] The SNP remained the second-largest party at Holyrood. The decline in support for the SNP was viewed by some as a rejection of the case for Scottish independence, however, the only parties which increased their representation in that election were the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Green Party, both of which also support independence.[47][48]

#### 2003 leadership challenge[edit]

Main article: 2003 Scottish National Party leadership election

Following the results of the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, Bill Wilson, a party activist, became convinced that a change of direction was needed by the SNP leadership.[49] After discussing this with various SNP members, he was persuaded to contest the leadership himself and launched a challenge against Swinney.[50] Wilson ran a campaign attacking Swinney's proposals for party reform, which he claimed would centralise power and impoverish local branches. Wilson also challenged Swinney to a series of debates, although Swinney refused to take part.[51][52]

The election was yet another fight between the party's fundamentalists and gradualists, with Wilson attacking Swinney's proposal for a referendum on independence before pursuing negotiations with the British government. Wilson argued that as soon as the SNP can form a government it should pursue negotiations to end the union.[53]

The election was held at the party's 69th annual conference, and saw Swinney winning a massive victory over Wilson.[54] Moves in support of Wilson's proposition of pursuing independence negotiations without a referendum were thrown out at the party conference, and Swinney won significant policy battles over imposing a monthly levy on party MPs, MSPs, and MEPs. In a surprise result, the new central membership system was also approved.[55] The membership changes had been a key issue of attack from Wilson.[53] Soon afterwards, the party's National Executive Committee decided to suspend and then expel Campbell Martin. He had backed Wilson's leadership challenge and had continued to be overtly critical of Swinney's leadership, resulting in disciplinary action.[56] This was the last SNP election to use the delegate voting method. Future elections would be based on a one-person-one-vote postal vote system.[57]

#### Scottish independence[edit]

In September 2003 he urged SNP activists to ask the public, "Do you want independence, yes or no? And then tell the Brits to get off." A spokesman for Scottish Labour condemned the Swinney's use of language and said, "There is no place in Scotland for his brand of extreme nationalism."[58]

#### 2004 European Parliament elections[edit]

Though retaining its two seats at the 2004 European elections, in a smaller field of 7 (Scotland up until then had 8 MEPs) the Scottish press and certain elements within the fundamentalist wing of the Party depicted the result as a disaster for the SNP putting further pressure on Swinney to resign.[59][60]

### Resignation[edit]

After the results of the 2004 European Parliament election, senior figures within the SNP began privately briefing against Swinney. Gil Paterson, a former MSP for Central Scotland, was the first to call for Swinney's departure, with Michael Russell, a former potential campaign manager for Swinney calling for a change in approach from the SNP.[61] Members of the SNP shadow cabinet began privately discussing removing Swinney from the leadership, and Alex Salmond advised Swinney to resign in exchange for senior party figures not calling openly for his resignation.[62] On 22 June 2004, Swinney resigned as leader of the Scottish National Party, triggering a leadership contest.[63][64][65] He was succeeded by Alex Salmond after winning more than 75% of votes against Roseanna Cunningham and Michael Russell on a joint leadership ticket with Nicola Sturgeon.[66][67][68]

## SNP in opposition (2004–2007)[edit]

From 2004 until the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, Swinney sat on the SNP's opposition backbenches. He served as a convener on the Parliament's European and External Relations Committee from 2004 to 2005 and deputy convener on the Finance Committee from 2005 to 2007. Swinney was a substitute member of the Audit Committee from 2004 to 2007.[69] In September 2005, Swinney was made Shadow Minister for Finance.[70][71]

## Salmond administration (2007–2014)[edit]

### Finance Secretary: 2007–2016[edit]

Swinny's official portrait as Cabinet Secretary for Sustainable Growth

In the 2007 election to the 3rd Scottish Parliament, the SNP emerged as the largest party, with one seat more than the governing Scottish Labour.[72][73] Initially the SNP proposed coalition talks with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, however, they declined and instead Swinney led coalition talks with the Scottish Greens.[74] After an agreement, Salmond was appointed first minister of Scotland and he appointed Swinney as the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth in his first minority government.[75]

As response to Swinney not notifying the Scottish Parliament that he had let the Scottish Variable Rate lapse due to not funding this tax mechanism, the Scottish Parliament voted to censure him and called his actions "an abuse of power".[76] Subsequently, a freedom of information request showed that even if Swinney had funded the mechanism, problems and delays in the HM Revenue & Customs computer system made any collection of the tax impossible. The Scottish Government added, "The power has not lapsed, the HMRC simply does not have an IT system capable of delivering a ten-month state of readiness."[77][78]

#### 2008 financial crisis[edit]

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Further information: 2008 financial crisis

As Finance Secretary, Swinney was faced with the 2008 financial crash, which resulted in the Scottish economy entering recession.[79]

## Deputy First Minister of Scotland (2014–2023)[edit]

Swinney with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon after his appointment as Deputy First Minister, November 2014

Following the defeat of the Yes Scotland campaign in the 2014 referendum, Salmond resigned as leader of the SNP and Swinney was seen as a likely candidate in the leadership race, however, he "unreservedly" ruled himself out for a second bid as leader and endorsed Nicola Sturgeon.[80][81][82] Sturgeon was elected unopposed as leader and was subsequently appointed First Minister of Scotland.[83][84] On 21 November 2014, Sturgeon appointed Swinney as Deputy First Minister.[85] He remained as Finance Secretary in Sturgeon's new cabinet.[86][87]

Sturgeon and Swinney head the first meeting of the Scottish Cabinet, May 2016

### Education Secretary: 2016–2021[edit]

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP lost its overall majority, but remained the largest party with Sturgeon securing a second term as first minister.[88][89] She reappointed Swinney as deputy first minister, and for the first time in nine years, he was reshuffled from his roles as Finance Secretary to Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills.[90][91]

#### Educational performance[edit]

After the 2017 General Election saw the SNP lose 21 seats, pollster Professor John Curtice told the BBC that the party's record on education had likely dented its popularity: "The SNP may want to reflect that their domestic record, not least on schools, is beginning to undermine their support among those who on the constitutional question are still willing to support the Nationalist position."[92]

In March 2020, after the results of Scottish students dropped in maths and science in the international PISA rankings for education, Swinney admitted, "There is progress to be made in maths and science."[93] Scottish Conservative education spokeswoman Liz Smith said: "These two areas are so critical to the success of much of Scotland's modern economy. We should be doing so much better."[94]

#### 2020 SQA exam controversy[edit]

In August 2020 he was subject to a vote of no confidence in Parliament, with the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats all accusing Swinney of creating an exam results system which "unfairly penalised pupils at schools which had historically not performed so well".[95] During the No Confidence debate, Nicola Sturgeon described him as "one of the most decent and dedicated people in Scottish politics", while The Herald newspaper reported that: "Mr Swinney endured a deeply uncomfortable hour in the Holyrood chamber, as opposition MSPs said he had been a serial failure at the education portfolio, and he knew it."[96] The motion was defeated by 67 votes to 58 resulting in Swinney surviving the vote and remaining as Scottish Education Secretary.[97][98]

#### Vote of no confidence[edit]

In March 2021 Swinney was the subject of a second motion of no confidence.[99] As the minister in charge of liaising with the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, Swinney twice refused to publish legal advice requested by the committee.[100][better source needed] After two votes in Parliament failed to persuade him to publish the advice, opposition parties announced a motion of no confidence in him.[100] Swinney u-turned and published the advice; the Scottish Greens declared they would not support the motion of no confidence and it was defeated by 65 votes to 57.[100]

#### Attainment gap[edit]

A report by Audit Scotland in March 2021 concluded that the results of Swinney's efforts to reduce the poverty related attainment gap in Scottish education were "limited and [fell] short of the Scottish Government’s aims. Improvement needs to happen more quickly and there needs to be greater consistency across the country." In 10 Scottish council areas the attainment gap between the richest and the poorest children increased.[101]

### Covid Recovery Secretary: 2021–2023[edit]

Swinney at a COVID-19 press conference in 2021

Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, Scottish Labour urged Sturgeon to replace Swinney as Cabinet Secretary for Education, citing what it called "a litany of failures", in the "hope a new minister can stop the rot."[102] On 18 May, Sturgeon announced Swinney would continue as Deputy First Minister but would be reshuffled to the new cabinet role as Cabinet Secretary for Covid Recovery.[103]

## Out of government (2023–present)[edit]

### Backbenches (2023-2024)[edit]

Following Sturgeon's resignation in February 2023, Swinney announced on 2 March 2023 that he was standing down from his position as Deputy First Minister. He stated that it had been an "honour to serve Scotland".[104] In March 2023, Swinney moved to the SNP's backbenches and served as a member of the Scottish Parliament's Justice Committee.[105][106] He spent the duration of Humza Yousaf's premiership on the backbenches.

### 2024 SNP leadership bid[edit]

See also: 2024 Scottish National Party leadership election

Swinney's leadership campaign logo.

Immediately following Yousaf's resignation in April 2024 amid a government crisis, Swinney was touted as a potential candidate to succeed him in the 2024 SNP leadership election, and was viewed as the favoured candidate among SNP members.[107][108] He gave a short interview to the media where he said that he would have more to say on the matter in the coming days.[109][110][111][112][113] Swinney received endorsements from several senior SNP figures including Jenny Gilruth, Neil Gray, Ian Blackford, Stephen Flynn and Màiri McAllan.[114][115]

Swinney declared his candidacy for the SNP leadership on 2 May 2024.[116] Kate Forbes, who was runner-up to Yousaf in the 2023 leadership, was considered a "front runner" to challenge Swinney in the leadership race, but she announced on the same day she wouldn't run for leader and instead endorsed Swinney's campaign.[117][118] Swinney announced Forbes would receive a significant role in his government if elected.[119]

## Political positions[edit]

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### Monarchy[edit]

In September 2022, amid the death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, Swinney stated that the monarch should remain head of state of an independent Scotland.[120]

## Parliamentary electoral history[edit]

### 2020s[edit]

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Perthshire North[121][122] Party  | Candidate  | Constituency  | Regional

|
|
|

Votes  | %  | ±% | Votes  | %  | ±%
| SNP | John Swinney[c] | 19,860 | 49.5 | 0.9 | 16,090 | 40.1 | 1.6
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser[d] | 15,807  | 39.4  | 0.6  | 14,670  | 36.5  |  1.7
| Scottish Green | 3,241  | 8.1  | 2.1
| Labour | Ryan Smart  | 2,324  | 5.8  | 1.9  | 2,838  | 7.1  | 0.5
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Barrett  | 1,802  | 4.5  | 0.5  | 1,728  | 4.3  | 0.4
| Alba | 658  | 1.6  | New
| All for Unity | 270  | 0.7  | New
| Scottish Family | Donald Marshall  | 334  | 0.8  | New | 230  | 0.6  | New
| Reform UK | 111  | 0.3  | New
| Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 105  | 0.3  | New
| Freedom Alliance (UK)  | 96  | 0.2  | New
| Libertarian | 51  | 0.1  | 0.1
| UKIP | 34  | 0.1  | 1.8
| Independent | Martin Keatings  | 25  | 0.1  | New
| Renew | 8  | 0.0  | New
| Independent | Mercy Kamanja  | 4  | 0.0  | New
Majority  | 4,053  | 10.1  | 0.3  |
Valid Votes  | 40,127  |  | 40,159  |
Invalid Votes  | 141  |  | 73  |
Turnout | 40,268  | 69.9  | 6.9  | 40,232  | 69.9  | 6.9
| SNP hold | Swing |  |

Notes

1. ^ Previously titled Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth from 2007 to 2011; Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth from 2011 to 2014; and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy from 2014 to 2016
2. ^ Swinney was acting Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy during the maternity leave of Kate Forbes from 2022 to 2023.
3. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency
4. ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

### 2010s[edit]

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Perthshire North[122] Party  | Candidate  | Constituency  | Regional

|
|
|

Votes  | %  | ±% | Votes  | %  | ±%
| SNP | John Swinney[a] | 16,526 | 48.6 | 12.2 | 14,218 | 41.7 | 11.4
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser[b] | 13,190  | 38.8  | 12.5  | 13,038  | 38.2  | 13.2
| Labour | Anna McEwan  | 2,604  | 7.7  | 1.2  | 2,599  | 7.6  | 1.4
| Scottish Green | 2,045  | 6.0  | 1.5
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Barrett  | 1,705  | 5.0  | 1.0  | 1,336  | 3.9  | 0.2
| UKIP | 634  | 1.9  | 0.8
| RISE | 104  | 0.3  | New
| Solidarity | 78  | 0.2  | 0.1
| Libertarian | 60  | 0.2  | New
Majority  | 3,336  | 9.8  | 24.7  |
Valid Votes  | 34,025  |  | 34,112  |
Invalid Votes  | 112  |  | 59  |
Turnout | 34,137  | 63.0  | 6.7  | 34,171  | 63.0  | 6.7
| SNP hold | Swing |  |

Notes

1. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency
2. ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Perthshire North[123][124] Party  | Candidate  | Constituency  | Region

|
|
|

Votes  | %  | ±% | Votes  | %  | ±%
| SNP | John Swinney[a] | 18,219 | 60.8 | N/A | 15,908 | 53.1 | N/A
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser[b] | 7,866  | 26.3  | N/A | 7,491  | 25.0  | N/A
| Labour | Pete Cheema  | 2,672  | 8.9  | N/A | 2,690  | 9.0  | N/A
| Scottish Green | 1,359  | 4.5  | N/A
| Liberal Democrats | Victor Clements  | 1,196  | 4.0  | N/A | 1,121  | 3.7  | N/A
| Scottish Senior Citizens | 440  | 1.5  | N/A
| UKIP | 334  | 1.1  | N/A
| BNP | 187  | 0.6  | N/A
| Scottish Christian | 110  | 0.4  | N/A
| Socialist Labour | 97  | 0.3  | N/A
| CPA | 88  | 0.3  | N/A
| Scottish Socialist | 74  | 0.2  | N/A
| Independent | Andrew Roger  | 42  | 0.1  | N/A
| Solidarity | 17  | 0.1  | N/A
Majority  | 10,353  | 34.5  | N/A |
Valid Votes  | 29,953  |  | 29,958  |
Invalid Votes  | 117  |  | 117  |
Turnout | 30,070  | 56.3  | N/A | 30,075  | 56.3  | N/A
| SNP win (new seat)

Notes

1. ^ Incumbent member for the North Tayside constituency
2. ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

### 2000s[edit]

2007 Scottish Parliament election: North Tayside  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SNP | John Swinney | 18,281  | 51.6  | +6.7
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser | 10,697  | 30.2  | -1.2
| Labour | Michael Marra  | 3,243  | 9.2  | -1.4
| Liberal Democrats | James Taylor  | 3,175  | 9.0  | -0.6
Majority  | 7,584  | 21.4  | +7.9
Turnout | 35.395  | 57.1  | +3.9
| SNP hold | Swing | +4.0  |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: North Tayside  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SNP | John Swinney | 14,969  | 44.9  | +0.8
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser | 10,466  | 31.4  | -1.7
| Labour | Gordon MacRae  | 3,527  | 10.6  | -4.4
| Liberal Democrats | Bob Forrest  | 3,206  | 9.6  | +1.9
| Scottish Socialist | Rosie Adams  | 941  | 2.8  | New
| Scottish People's | George Ashe  | 234  | 0.7  | New
Majority  | 4,503  | 13.5  | +2.5
Turnout | 33,343  | 53.2  |
| SNP hold | Swing | +0.8  |

### 1990s[edit]

1999 Scottish Parliament election: North Tayside  Party  | Candidate  | Votes  | %  | ±%

|
|
|
|

| SNP | John Swinney | 16,786  | 44.11  | N/A
| Conservative | Murdo Fraser | 12,594  | 33.09  | N/A
| Labour | Marion Dingwall  | 5,727  | 15.05  | N/A
| Liberal Democrats | Peter Regent  | 2,948  | 7.75  | N/A
Majority  | 4,192  | 11.02  | N/A
Turnout | 38,055  |  |
| SNP win (new seat)

## Personal life[edit]

Swinney in 2016

Swinney was married to Lorna King from 1991 to 1998. They had two children: Judith and Stuart. The couple divorced in 1998 after the Daily Record revealed King had an affair with a married nursery teacher.[125] The marriage was subsequently annulled by the Scottish Catholic Tribunal in order that he be allowed to marry in the Catholic Church in Scotland.[126] In 2003, Swinney married Elizabeth Quigley, a BBC Scotland News reporter.[127] Quigley was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2000.[128] In 2010, she gave birth to Swinney's third child, Matthew.[129][130] They live near Blairgowrie in Perth and Kinross.[131]

Swinney has described himself as "a man of deep Christian faith".[132]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Mr John Swinney (Hansard)". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
2. ^ "John Swinney will love Edinburgh trams – father". www.scotsman.com. 22 May 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
3. ^ Death certificate of Agnes Weir Swinney, 2020, Edinburgh, Central 734/ 462 – National Records of Scotland
4. ^ Fraser, Gemma (30 March 2010). "School's Victoria Cross hero honoured at memorial move". The Scotsman article. Edinburgh: The Scotsman. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
5. ^ "World War II". 5 March 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
6. ^ "News | The Scotsman". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
7. ^ "Deputy First Minister". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
8. ^ "The Scottish Parliament , John Swinney". 2 May 2006. Archived from the original on 2 May 2006. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
9. ^ "John Swinney". Scottish National Party. 5 September 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
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## Notes[edit]

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Swinney.

* John Swinney MSP
* Scottish Parliament profiles of MSPs: John Swinney
* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by John Swinney

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

Bill Walker

|  Member of Parliament for North Tayside
1997–2001 | Succeeded by

Peter Wishart

Scottish Parliament
New constituency |  Member of the Scottish Parliament for North Tayside
1999–2011 | Constituency abolished
New constituency |  Member of the Scottish Parliament for Perthshire North
2011–present  | Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by

Tom McCabe

as Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform |  Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy
2007–2016  | Succeeded by

Derek Mackay

as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution
Preceded by

Nicola Sturgeon

|  Deputy First Minister of Scotland
2014–2023  | Succeeded by

Shona Robison

Party political offices
Preceded by

Neil MacCallum

|  National Secretary of the Scottish National Party
1986–1992  | Succeeded by

Alasdair Morgan

Preceded by

Michael Russell

|  Scottish National Party Vice Convenor for Publicity
1992–1997  |  Succeeded by

Office abolished

Preceded by

Allan Macartney

|  Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party
1998–2000  | Succeeded by

Roseanna Cunningham

Preceded by

Alex Salmond

|  Leader of the Scottish National Party
2000–2004
(National Convener 2000 – April 2004)  | Succeeded by

Alex Salmond

* v
* t
* e

Deputy First Ministers of Scotland

* Jim Wallace
* Nicol Stephen
* Nicola Sturgeon
* John Swinney
* Shona Robison

* Category
* Politics of Scotland

* v
* t
* e

Members of the Scottish Parliament in the Mid Scotland and Fife region

Elected in the 2021 election

Constituency MSPs|

* Keith Brown (SNP, Clackmannanshire and Dunblane)
* Annabelle Ewing (SNP, Cowdenbeath)
* Shirley-Anne Somerville (SNP, Dunfermline)
* Jenny Gilruth (SNP, Fife Mid and Glenrothes)
* Willie Rennie (Lib Dem, North East Fife)
* David Torrance (SNP, Kirkcaldy)
* John Swinney (SNP, Perthshire North)
* Jim Fairlie (SNP, Perthshire South and Kinross-shire)
* Evelyn Tweed (SNP, Stirling)

Additional members|

* Claire Baker (Lab)
* Murdo Fraser (Con)
* Roz McCall (Con)
* Alex Rowley (Lab)
* Mark Ruskell (Greens)
* Liz Smith (Con)
* Alexander Stewart (Con)

SNP (8 seats), Conservative (4 seats), Labour (2 seats), Liberal Democrats (1 seat); Greens (1 seat)

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Scottish National Party

Leadership|

| Leaders|

* MacEwen
* Gibb
* Power
* Young
* Watson
* McIntyre
* Halliday
* Donaldson
* Wolfe
* Wilson
* Salmond
* Swinney
* Salmond
* Sturgeon
* Yousaf

|

Depute leaders|

* Milne
* Wolfe
* Leslie
* Henderson
* Wilson
* MacDonald
* Henderson
* Fairlie
* Ewing
* Salmond
* Morgan
* Sillars
* Macartney
* Swinney
* Cunningham
* Sturgeon
* Hosie
* Robertson
* Brown

Parliamentary leaders|

| Scottish Parliament|

* Salmond
* Swinney
* Sturgeon
* Salmond
* Sturgeon
* Yousaf

|

House of Commons|

* Stewart
* Ewing
* Morgan
* Salmond
* Robertson
* Blackford
* Flynn

Presidents|

* Graham
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* Gibson
* McIntyre
* Wolfe
* Stewart
* Ewing
* Hudghton
* Russell

Leadership elections|

| Leader|

* 1967
* 1969
* 1979
* 1990
* 2000
* 2003
* 2004
* 2014
* 2023
* 2024

|

Depute Leader|

* 2014
* 2016
* 2018

Administrations|

* Salmond I
* Salmond II
* Sturgeon I
* Sturgeon II
* Sturgeon III
* Yousaf I
* Yousaf II

Predecessors|

* National Party of Scotland
* Scots National League
* Scottish National Movement
* Scottish Party

Related|

* History
* NATO debate
* Politics of Scotland
* SNP Students
* SNP Trade Union Group
* Scottish National Party MEPs
* Scottish National Party MSPs
* Scottish National Party MPS
* 2024 Scottish government crisis

Category

* v
* t
* e

Scottish National Party MSPs

First Minister|

* Humza Yousaf

Cabinet secretaries|

* Angela Constance
* Jenny Gilruth
* Mairi Gougeon
* Neil Gray
* Fiona Hyslop
* Màiri McAllan
* Angus Robertson
* Shona Robison
* Shirley-Anne Somerville

Junior ministers|

* George Adam
* Tom Arthur
* Siobhian Brown
* Graeme Dey
* Natalie Don
* Jim Fairlie
* Joe FitzPatrick
* Jamie Hepburn
* Richard Lochhead
* Gillian Martin
* Christina McKelvie
* Paul McLennan
* Jenni Minto
* Emma Roddick
* Kaukab Stewart
* Maree Todd

Backbench|

* Karen Adam
* Clare Adamson
* Alasdair Allan
* Colin Beattie
* Keith Brown
* Stephanie Callaghan
* Willie Coffey
* Bob Doris
* James Dornan
* Jackie Dunbar
* Annabelle Ewing
* Fergus Ewing
* Kate Forbes
* Kenneth Gibson
* Christine Grahame
* Emma Harper
* Clare Haughey
* Bill Kidd
* Gordon MacDonald
* Fulton MacGregor
* Rona Mackay
* Ben Macpherson
* Ruth Maguire
* John Mason
* Michael Matheson
* Ivan McKee
* Stuart McMillan
* Marie McNair
* Audrey Nicoll
* Collette Stevenson
* Kevin Stewart
* Nicola Sturgeon
* John Swinney
* Michelle Thomson
* David Torrance
* Evelyn Tweed
* Elena Whitham

* Category
* Politics of Scotland

* v
* t
* e

Former Scottish National Party MPs

By date first representing SNP
in the House of Commons|

* 1945
* Robert McIntyre
* 1967
* Winnie Ewing
* 1970
* Donald Stewart
* 1973
* Margo MacDonald
* 1974
* Douglas Crawford
* Margaret Ewing
* Douglas Henderson
* Iain MacCormick
* George Reid
* George Thompson
* Hamish Watt
* Andrew Welsh
* Gordon Wilson
* 1987
* Alex Salmond
* 1988
* Jim Sillars
* 1990
* Dick Douglas
* 1995
* Roseanna Cunningham
* 1997
* Alasdair Morgan
* John Swinney
* 2001
* Annabelle Ewing
* Angus Robertson
* Mike Weir
* 2005
* Angus MacNeil
* 2008
* John Mason
* 2010
* Eilidh Whiteford
* 2015
* Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh
* Richard Arkless
* Phil Boswell
* Lisa Cameron
* Stuart Donaldson
* Neil Gray
* George Kerevan
* Calum Kerr
* Callum McCaig
* Stephen Gethins
* Natalie McGarry
* Paul Monaghan
* Roger Mullin
* Steven Paterson
* Michelle Thomson
* Corri Wilson
* 2019
* Margaret Ferrier
* Neale Hanvey
* Kenny MacAskill

* v
* t
* e

2003 Scottish Parliament election

* Incumbent First Minister: Jack McConnell (Labour)
* Subsequent First Minister: Jack McConnell (Labour)

* Jack McConnell (Labour)
* John Swinney (SNP)
* David McLetchie (Conservative)
* Jim Wallace (Liberal Democrats)
* Robin Harper (Green)
* Tommy Sheridan (Scottish Socialist)
* John Swinburne (Scottish Senior Citizens)

* Members elected

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced
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*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template