John Swinney's term as First Minister of Scotland began on 8 May 2024, when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session, upon Humza Yousaf's resignation. His premiership has been defined by a focus on "people's priorities," specifically eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, improving public services, and tackling the climate emergency, as well as pushing for a second independence referendum.

Swinney previously served as leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2000 to 2004, when the party was in opposition. Yousaf announced his resignation as party leader and first minister on 29 April 2024, amid a government crisis. Swinney announced his leadership bid on 2 May, but faced potential leadership challenges from Kate Forbes and Graeme McCormick. Both candidates eventually decided not to stand and endorsed Swinney, who was therefore elected unopposed as the SNP party leader on 6 May; Swinney subsequently appointed Forbes as Deputy First Minister.

His early premiership was marked by the loss of 39 seats at the 2024 United Kingdom general election in Scotland, reducing the SNP to the second-largest party in Scotland and the fourth-largest party in the Westminster Parliament. However, the SNP have since recovered in the polls amid the unpopularity of both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar.

Domestically, Swinney's term has been marked by declaring a national housing emergency, navigating the closure of the Grangemouth Refinery, and handling the widespread infrastructure damage caused by Storm Éowyn in early 2025, as well as the government response to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital infections scandal, denying that there had been any political pressure to open the hospital before it was ready. Internationally, Swinney met with Donald Trump to discuss whisky tariffs following the Liberation Day tariffs. Swinney has called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza war, and for a de-escalation of the conflict between Iran and Israel, citing "potential dangers of the military intervention".

Swinney led his party into the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, and has promised to deliver independence after his re-election. While the constitutional debate around independence has remained central to Scottish discourse during Swinney's premiership, the immediate path to a second referendum remains stalled by legal and political obstacles.

Background

Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election, the SNP had been in a power-sharing agreement with the Scottish Greens. In April 2024, Yousaf terminated the agreement, following changes to landmark climate policy by Màiri McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy. Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater, co-leaders of the Greens, announced they would support a no confidence motion in Yousaf. Amid the crisis, Yousaf announced his resignation as party leader and first minister on 29 April.

Leadership election

On 2 May, Swinney launched his leadership bid, after Kate Forbes, who was a serious contender to become leader, declined to stand and endorsed him.

Graeme McCormick announced he would challenge Swinney for the leadership, saying he had the 100 nominations on 5 May. Just hours later, he withdrew and endorsed Swinney, becoming the presumptive nominee.

On 6 May, with no other candidates put forward, Swinney was elected as party leader unopposed.

First term (2024–2026) Government formation

Swinney was officially sworn into office as First Minister of Scotland on 8 May 2024 at the Court of Session in Edinburgh after receiving the Royal Warrant of Appointment by King Charles III.

The majority of Swinney's cabinet were previously part of Humza Yousaf's previous governments. The only addition to the cabinet was Kate Forbes replacing Shona Robison as Deputy First Minister of Scotland, and taking part of Màiri McAllan's responsibility for economy into her portfolio as Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic. Robison was, however, re-appointed by Swinney as Finance Secretary with additional responsibility for local government, with McAllan appointed as the reduced portfolio of Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy.

Swinney's cabinet met for the first time on 10 May 2024, with the Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government John-Paul Marks and the Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain also attending the cabinet meeting. Speaking about the first meeting of his cabinet since becoming First Minister, Swinney said "today, my colleagues and I embark on a new chapter as we collectively work to build a better, brighter future for the people of Scotland. It is my greatest honour to lead us forward on that journey – one that will drive economic growth, tackle the climate crisis and eradicate the scourge of child poverty in our country once and for all".

Debut First Ministers Questions

Swinney's first First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament as First Minister occurred on Thursday 9 May 2024, during which Swinney's record on education during his tenure as education secretary under former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was attacked by both Anas Sarwar (leader, Scottish Labour Party) and Douglas Ross (leader, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party). Ross asked if Swinney would "recommit to increasing teacher numbers by 3,500", whilst Sarwar asked Swinney if he "could save 450 Glasgow teachers whose jobs are under threat". Swinney confirmed to the Scottish Parliament chamber that, as First Minister, he would work with local councils to "deliver on education".

His decision to appoint Kate Forbes as the Deputy First Minister was criticised by Patrick Harvie, the co–leader of the Scottish Greens, who asked if the SNP was going back to "the repressive values of 1950s with the return of Kate Forbes to the cabinet". Swinney was dismissive of the claims made by Harvie and defended his decision on appointing Forbes as Deputy First Minister, claiming that Forbes "had delivered progressive taxation when she was finance secretary".

First actions

Upon becoming First Minister, Swinney addressed issues within NHS Scotland, the country's national health service. He recognised that the NHS in Scotland is "operating under sustained pressure", further adding that " I am absolutely committed to working with health boards to improve standards – starting with our recent £30 million investment to drive down waiting times". Additionally, Swinney also pledged support to infrastructure projects across Scotland, stating that the Scottish Government "will also build on our investment and track record on major infrastructure projects. I'm pleased to also be able to visit one example of that record being the Levenmouth Rail Link, a line which will reconnect local communities for the first time in 50 years, and make a real contribution to the Government's net-zero transport ambitions. I pledge that I will stand with Scotland's businesses, large and small, and do whatever I can to help them to grow, innovate, and boost our economy for the benefit of those who live here".

Swinney's early premiership was marked by the resolution of the Michael Matheson iPad scandal: the SNP MSP Michael Matheson had incurred a £11,000 bill after taking a Parliamentary iPad while on a family holiday, and had attempted to claim the bill back on expenses before admitting that the iPad had not been used for work purposes. Swinney refused to support the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee's proposed sanction on Matheson, describing Matheson as a "friend and colleague" who had "made mistakes", and casting doubt on the integrity of the committee's process: describing the process as "prejudiced", Swinney claimed that Conservative MSP Annie Wells should have removed herself from the committee due to previous comments about Matheson's conduct. Swinney's support for Matheson was described as "incredible and indefensible" by the Scottish Conservatives leader Douglas Ross, and "unbelievable and embarrassing" by the Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. Swinney directed the SNP to abstain on the parliamentary vote on the committee's recommendations, after introducing an amendment re-iterating Swinney's complaints about the investigation into Matheson. The Scottish Parliament subsequently voted in support of the committee's proposed sanction, banning Matheson from the Scottish Parliament for 27 days and withholding his salary 54 days, the heaviest sanction ever awarded to an MSP.

Housing crisis

In May 2024, Swinney declared a national housing crisis across Scotland following pressure in the Scottish Parliament from the Scottish Labour Party who brought forward a motion in the parliamentary chamber on the issue. Up until the declaration of a housing crisis, homelessness in Scotland had been rising significantly, with five local authorities including City of Edinburgh Council and City of Glasgow Council urging the Scottish Government to immediately intervene. It was estimated that around 15,000 people in Scotland were reported to be living in temporary housing accommodation, including an estimated 10,000 children across the country.

Swinney argued that "bringing back empty homes into use is key to tackling the newly declared housing emergency", further commenting that "the housing supply has to be developed and new investment has to be found to ensure more new homes are built". The decision to declare a housing emergency by the Scottish Government was widely welcomed by homelinesses charities across Scotland.

Programme for government

On 22 May 2024, Swinney outlined his programme for government as First Minister. In a speech to the Scottish Parliament, Swinney identified four priorities for Scotland including eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services. During his speech, Swinney highlighted "the economic and fiscal realities we face", but advocated that the priorities for the government will "guide my government's decisions on policy and budget", further claiming that "the four priorities around which I will work to secure cross-party support is for the good of the people of Scotland". Overall, Swinney argued that the programme for government's priorities are essential, stating that "eradicating child poverty, growing the economy and tackling the climate emergency all link together to support my fourth key priority – to improve Scotland's public services – not as a cost, but as a vital investment in our future health, equality and prosperity". Subject to the Scottish Parliamentary timetable, the date for Programme for Government will be confirmed in due course.

Swinney's Programme for Government was formally announced on 4 September 2024, aiming to deliver on eradicating child poverty, growing the Scottish economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services across Scotland. Swinney proposed that during 2024–2025, Scottish Parliament bills will be introduced in areas such as Adults with Incapacity, the Scottish Budget, Building Safety Levy, Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets), Community Wealth Building, Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews, Crofting, Leases (such as automatic continuation), Heat in Buildings, Misogyny, Natural Environment, Post-School Education Reform, Prisoners and Scotland's co–hosting of the UEFA Euro 2028 football tournament.

Economy