First of all, a quick note to let you know that I'm quoted in Alasdair Soussi's profile of John Swinney on the Al Jazeera website, which you can read HERE. I'm both critical of Swinney and complimentary towards him, so there's something there for everyone!
Secondly, I can't resist taking the bait from Stuart Campbell, because this line is provably absurd: "And the office of Deputy First Minister is ceremonial – it’s very much the exception rather than the rule if the DFM ever becomes the actual FM."
In fact, prior to Kate Forbes, there had been five Deputy First Ministers: Jim Wallace, Nicol Stephen, Nicola Sturgeon, John Swinney and Shona Robison. Two of those (Sturgeon and Swinney) went on to become First Minister, and one (Jim Wallace) had spells as Acting First Minister. What's more, Wallace and Stephen were not eligible to become First Minister because they were only in government as the leader of the junior coalition party, so of the three Deputies who were able to become First Minister, two actually did so. That doesn't seem particularly "exceptional" to me.
Poor Shona. Was she ever the succession plan?
ReplyDeleteOn current form, she'll get a stint as FM in 2048!
DeleteBut Shona has done a superb job in every department she has led even though constantly under attack by unionist fools , the unionists attack those doing a great job its so so obvious now because during the covid pandemic they were so eager to see the Scottish government fail they let their guard down and attacked too many too often that people recognised the sneeky way the unionists act in unison to attack individuals in Scottish government who are doing a particularly stellar job.What the unionists really hate is that Shona does just get on with the day job , the favourite unionist repost when the unionists run out of ideas which is frequently .Terence Callachan Dundee
DeleteAgree fully. Shona has been an excellent asset for the SNP. Let us praise her because this is fully deserved. She is hard working and has achieved a lot for the SNP.
DeleteShe is settling into the role and showing sureness-of-touch. Agree 110%. We have to praise her like we should.
DeleteCampbell became a laughing stock some years ago. His insiders must be blind deaf and stupid as his exclusives are anything but, and often wrong. But he does keep the mouth frothing brigade semi contained, and well away from mainstream Indy, so he should be thanked for that. And since he and many of his cult members don’t even have a vote in Scotland, he is an irrelevance. Barmy Bath Britnat?
ReplyDeleteWOS used to be fantastic , it still comes up with great information which is often very reliable but where it has gone wrong is in its interpretation of all things Scottish Government , its as if it has to hate absolutely everything related to SNP , it all started with the court case with K Dugdale , he has never been able to get past that , he won the case but the media presented it as if he had not and Scottish government didnt pay much attention to it which i think hurt his feelings , since then he has strayed further and further from the Scottish independence supporters , many of those commenting on wos now are english people living in england or overseas who have his wos space to vent their british union jack hatred , its baffling to read some of the comments on WOS.
DeleteHe is quite superficial and tends to "straw man" his opponents, not treating them with respect in order to get to a better quality of argument. You could see the seeds of downfall of WOS in the Little Blue Book which was ultimately superficial. His reputation for being quite dismissive towards others that he disagreed with was developed years ago.
DeleteI'm sorry, what has his case against Dugdale to do with his critique of the SNP or Scottish Government? SNPers should be more concerned that one of the putative successors to Humza is quite literally in bed with an arch unionist like Dugdale. That says a lot about the commitment of some at the top of the party to the cause of independence.
DeleteInappropriate to talk about politicians private lives! Let us in the online independence movement be a lot better than that. John Swinney has spoken passionately about taking the toxicity out of Scottish politics and I would argue that some within the online commentariat are some of those who should heed and reflect upon this imperative.
DeleteI wouldn't hold out much hope of the toxicity reducing below the line on news and blog sites. Some people live to be toxic. It is what gets them through the day.
Deletehe won the case but the media presented it as if he had not
DeleteWhit? He lost. He said so himself. He had to pay KD's costs. What are you smoking
Inappropriate to talk about their private lives! Pass me the smelling salts! Anyway I didn't name anyone so it's obvious you know who it is and her position in the 'independence' movement - hypocrisy doesn't do it justice.
DeleteSwinney talking about taking the toxicity out of politics. You don’t get more toxic than trying to send Salmond to jail in fabricated charges and Swinney was part of this as Sturgeon’s deputy. As was Sturgeon husband and many of her pals. This was an overdose of poisonous toxins and not one of the people responsible have apologised for this.
DeleteVery impressed by John's first week in the job. He has turned over a new page for the SNP. He is a true SNP statesman and his performance restored a lot of stability and poise to the SNP.
ReplyDeleteHe has handled the media very well and steadied the ship.
DeleteHe is settling into the rĂ´le.
DeleteIt is fair to say he has set out a moderate prospectus and that ordinary people are now seeing an SNP that has turned the page. Yes, John Swinney is doing well and had a very good first week. Long may this continue!
Delete“stability and poise”. ha ha is Swinney a politician or a ballet dancer. Murray Foote your propaganda is pish.
DeleteSwinney is happy with devolution. For him independence is not a desire but some far off aspiration. I wouldn't trust him on independence as far as I could spit.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteTo the continuity brigade, Independence must be approached so very very slowly that it will never be achieved at all. What scared them? Which Scotland and, more starkly still: which Britain are they living in? Is this the eternal day after indyref?
John Swinney does want independence. He recently stated on television that it could happen in the next 5 years and that what is needed is for the case to be put forward. If independence does not happen it will not be for any lack of desire for it on the part of John Swinney.
DeleteI think Swinney has done ok in his first week. Not entirely surprising as he's an experienced politician who knows how to say a lot without really saying anything. He's immediately addressed the lack of centrist representation in the cabinet with the Green meltdown predictable but manageable. So that's a good job well done.
DeletePersonally, I don't take the 5 years to indy comment remotely seriously. It was a 'maybe' comment thrown out to feed the clapping seals. There is no substance whatsoever behind it. That may change but honestly, I doubt it.
Nuclear Armageddon and climate apocalypse could both happen in the next five years and to be depressingly honest I think either has more chance of happening than Scottish Independence. No, the SNP are blatantly in survival mode for the next two years, at least. Take the very likely double election hit, emerge from the wreckage and rebuild. We may not have hit rock bottom yet but in the last week we have slowed the rate of our descent. Painfully realistic, but there it is.
Agree that John Swinney has done a good job in his first week. He has a high level of skill in answering difficult questions from hostile media.
DeleteHis statement about independence in 5 years is encouraging because it is soon enough that he probably will still be leader then so he can be held to account for it.
DeleteI know it's different in many ways but I keep thinking about the 2011 election. Labour under Gray were, I think, ahead in the polls before the campaign got underway. We know how it ended up. I'm just not sure the electorate is *really* embracing Sarwar/Starmer/Labour in any meaningful sense. If the SNP play it right (Forbes in debates etc) I still think the party is in with a chance to beat Labour in the Westminster election. Nothing certain but presumably it'll be Sarwar up against Forbes or whoever in the Scottish debates and he's just so fundamentally rubbish that it'll put a lot of people off. Then i think about Swinney emphasising child poverty while Starmer eagerly embraces right-wing Tories. My feeling is there's all to play for.
ReplyDeleteVery good point. It is all to play for and John Swinney does I think deserve credit for stepping forward. He is a very experienced politician. As you say Sarwar is fundamentally rubbish. SNP activists have reason to keep on there is much to be hopeful about now.
DeleteSwimmer is very experienced at covering up Sturgeon’s wrongdoings.
DeleteYes, the more we see of Forbes and Flynn in the pre GE debates the better. Quite frankly, the more we see of Lorna Slater and Ross Greer the better too!
DeleteThey are unlikely to put Scottish Greens onto the main debates.
DeleteHas Swinney gone begging for a sec 30 from Sunak yet. It seems to be a rite of passage for the SNP phoney independence leaders. Anyone keeping count how many times they have gone grovelling to Westminster knowing fine well what the answer will be?
ReplyDeleteI think he has blown it, I was hoping for some sanity now that the Greens are gone but "Escargot John" has just reaffirmed snp intention of following the same course as before, so nothing changes except the BS
ReplyDeleteFatherTedCrilly
I do not agree. He has managed to fix the things that were wrong while keeping the things that were right.
DeleteThe good things about the SNP is its ability to revive and renew John Swinney is doing just that.
I never put the horse before the stable door and I don't think Mr Swinney does either. Or vice versa.
DeleteYou shouldn't give the horse a carrot before the cobbler has shod the bairns though.
DeleteNe'er feed the horse till its ran the course.
DeleteWatching John Swinney on the television you get a credible impression of someone who genuinely cares about child poverty, the vulnerable, and helping others. He seems decent and kind. This kind of positive impression will I hope restore SNPs position in the opinion polls before the election.
ReplyDeleteIt is good to have as leader of the SNP a man who cares about ordinary Scottish people. He has also quite a lot of seriousness which underscores his overall aura of gravitas.
Delete“aura of gravitas” - your propaganda stinks.
DeleteAnecdotal evidence admittedly but encouraging that John Swinney appears to be getting praise from my friends and family.
DeleteAnecdotal evidence admittedly but friends and family seem to think Swinney is a boring fart who talks a lot but says nothing.
DeleteThe SNP will win the general election by a country mile because the polls are being used to skew and influence voters instead of informing them, you can't poll people who don't answer
ReplyDeleteAll of this is media hype, Scotland is not going to vote Labour, they just are not that stupid anymore to hand back more power to England than they already have, only the Tories in Scotland would do that to help the one union party beat the SNP
Once the date is set for the general election then we'll see some polling that is a little bit closer to reality, in the meantime it's just media British noise
Dr Jim in the post above - the very same expert who has been telling anyone who would listen that Sturgeon would deliver independence each and every year since 2017. All she delivered was a dodgy motorhome and a dodgy husband. Dr Jim a track record of being wrong all the time, mixed in with an assortment of blatant lies.
DeleteWas the motor home paid for to assist in touring the country during an election? Answer Yes. As opposed to a helicopter it is quite frugal. For all we know you might be a bit dodgy.?
ReplyDeleteDream on mr gullible.
DeleteWas the motor home used In an election - no - was it used at all - no. So this is your understanding of being frugal - you are a right plonker. Unlike Murrell I have not been charged with embezzlement but plonkers like you think that it is acceptable for the ex SNP chief to be charged.
DeleteTo be fair to Mr Murrell let us not forget that the motorhome was intended for campaigning during covid however covid restrictions were (happily) lifted by the time the election was called (thanks to Nicola Sturgeon's effective leadership on this issue) so consequently it was not needed. Moreover, in all of this, it was parked at Mr Murrell's mothers home only because this site had zero storage costs (a kindness from Mrs Murrell) which was therefore the best value location as far as the SNP was concerned for it to be parked. There is really nothing to see here.
DeleteAnd the party treasurer said on camera he knew nothing about a motorhome until he was 'reminded' of it after meeting NicolađŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚đŸ˜‚
DeleteAnon says “there is nothing to see here”- yes nobody can see the missing ring fenced £600k.
DeleteVery good interview by Neil Gray on the BBC Sunday Show. He pointed out that John Swinneys leadership provides a real opportunity for the SNP to refocus, with a move on from the era of Humza Yousaf to turn over a new page. A renewed focus on economic opportunity and better stronger links with the business community. In all of this the aim is for a more prosperous Scotland which has greater economic growth. He performed well against sometimes hostile questioning. Encouraging times.
ReplyDeleteI also watched this interview with interest. I was not disappointed - I thought it was very good.
DeleteIt's a good time to be an SNP activists. There is all to play for. The SNP look set to turn a new page and refocus on the priorities of ordinary Scottish people.
DeleteWrite up of Gray interview:
Deletehttps://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgy657n42ko
Worth pointing out that Neil Gray did very well on Debate Night recently. A good politician.
DeleteDo something about the government bot
ReplyDeleteIn 7 days John Swinney has done so many Great Thinks that I I feel weak at the knees. Get rid of him. Ban him.
ReplyDeleteJohn Swinney has a confidence-inspiring quality. He has the experience and he is a decent person (Church of Scotland).
ReplyDeleteIs Swinney the new messiah?
DeleteWhat a load of pish being posted by Murray Foote and his minions.
And what are you. Just a labour tosser? Brit Nat lackie?
DeleteI am a real independence supporter not a phoney like Swinney.
DeleteSwinney is a very good leader of the SNP. He is a statesman and at the same time he has the common touch -- someone to whom ordinary Scottish people can relate.
DeleteSwinney wasn’t a good leader 20 years ago but you state he is a good leader now after days in the job. You are a propagandist.
DeleteI take your point but he has definitely hit the ground running this time.
DeleteJohn Swinney has shown great leadership within the SNP. He's been a steady and reliable figure, always working hard to make sure things run smoothly. His dedication and clear vision have helped guide the party through many challenges in the past, and he's always been there to support his team and make tough decisions when needed. Overall, his leadership has been strong, dependable, and inspiring.
DeleteThe idea of independence is just utter nonsense and won’t ever happen.
ReplyDeleteSo Jersey Guernsey and the Isle of Man are a nonsense are they. Are all the independent countries in the world a nonsense? You are a nonsense!
DeleteAnon at 10:18, if you think independence for Scotland is somehow a good idea, then you’re clearly a sandwich short of the full picnic.
DeleteYour insults are lacking in imagination and that is no surprise.
DeleteThis wretched SNP government have done so much damage to Scotland and they’re going to pay the ultimate price at the GE and next Holyrood election.
DeleteThe country has had enough of these incompetent charlatans.
Disagree strongly. The SNP have reduced child poverty and introduced the most progressive tax system in the UK and reduced hospital waiting times, all the while maintaining free university tuition.
DeleteDRS fiasco?
DeleteFerry scandal?
Gender recognition?
Delaying census by a year?
Sturgeon’s pathetic grandstanding during Covid?
Just a few examples of SNP failure. Most things they do are attempts to score political points. Most end in failure, and in the case of the ferries, backfire spectacularly.
Like the Tories, they’ve been in power too long, and there’s urgent need for change.
I take your point but these are just isolated examples.
DeleteIsolated examples đŸ¤£đŸ¤£đŸ¤£
DeleteI suppose if you have nothing in life to look forward too you become a britnat.
ReplyDeleteObviously you can’t defend the indefensible!
DeleteThankfully you remain in a minority.
So you are a britnat. That’s indefensible
ReplyDeleteProud to be British yes.
DeleteYou are a deluded Nat, living in complete denial. You are in a minority, even after years of the Tories and Brexit, the majority support the union.
Accept your dream is over and move on for pity’s sake.