John Swinney to become Scotland's new first minister after Holyrood vote

each candidate is as follows Alex Cole Hamilton four Douglas Ross 31 Anna sarir 22 John swinny 64 there were seven abstentions as there is an overall majority for John swinny on behalf of the parliament I congratulate Mr swinny as the parliament's nominee for the position of first Minister and look forward to working with thank you and I now call John swinny pres officer I I'm very grateful to Douglas Ross an ASA L Slater and Alex Co Hamilton for their kind comments this afternoon especially their comments in relation to the support of my family presing off when I stood down as Deputy first minister in March last year I believe that would be the last senior office I would hold in politics having served then as a senior Minister for 16 years I felt I had to coin a phrase done my bit to find myself accepting office as first minister of Scotland today is therefore to utter a classic understatement something of a surprise it is however an extraordinary privilege and it is my honor to accept the office of first Minister committing myself to do the best I can for Scotland as I navigated my way through the media pack in the corridors of this this Parliament last week prior to announcing my candidacy for the S&P leadership I tried to explain that I was taking my time to decide whether to stand because I had to be certain it was a decision that was right for my family for me my answers to the media were not a stalling tactic or an evasive answer from an experienced politician for me it was the truth members will know that my wife Elizabeth has multiple sclerosis she is indefatigable in trying to make sure that Ms does not get in the way of her living life to the full but much to her frustration she does often have to rely on her husband for support and assistance I could not just commit myself to become first Minister without being able to properly work out with my family how we would be able to manage as a family we've talked that through and we will manage but I cannot let this moment pass without making clear to Elizabeth my profound Eternal gratitude for the sacrifices she is prepared to make to enable her husband to serve our country as first Minister I am so pleased pleased that my father my wife and children members of my family and our dearest friends are able to be here today to see this moment my only regret is that my beloved mother did not live long enough to see this day as her Parish Minister wrote to me yesterday your mom would have been quietly proud my mother's love of literature and poetry which rubbed off on her two sons would have prompted her to find some words that would sum up this moment yesterday I was asked what would be the single most important policy objective for my government I made it clear it would be the eradication of child poverty so in searching for words to sum up this occasion perhaps my mother would have chosen these words from one of Scotland's greatest poets HH Henderson who was born in Blair gy in the very Beating Heart of my pure con North constituency in his Anthem Freedom camoi which I heard hes Henderson sing from an open top bus in The Meadows of our great Capital City during a rally that demanded the establishment of this very parliament in the early 1990s heish Henderson wrote so Come All Ye at him with freedom never heed what the hoodies croak for Doom in your house all the be of Adam can find breed barley Brie and painted room if there was ever an Anthem that railed Against Child poverty those words from HH Henderson echo through the straths and streets of our diverse country as a call for us to act so I will be Unapologetic about bringing to this Parliament the measures we can take to eradicate child poverty and I look forward to seeking the support of others to achieve that aim because because I recognize that's how it's going to have to work I am leading a minority government I will need to reach out to others to make things happen to pass legislation to agree a budget to pass legislation to agree a budget these sound like dry technical parliamentary terms but what they mean in reality is if we want to fund our schools and hospitals if we want to give our businesses a competitive age if we want to take climate action if we want to eradicate child poverty if we want to change people's lives for the better we have got to work together to do so this Parliament as colleagues have fairly recognized is intensely polarized at this time I accept my part in creating that environment whether that is by shouted put downs from the front bench or heckling from a sedentary position I do promise presiding officer that that will all stop I have changed [Applause] Perhaps Perhaps time will tell on that one this is not the collaborative place it has been in the past a collaborative place that has done so much good to improve the lives of people in Scotland as the parliament marks its 25 year anniversary and is one of the relatively small group who've been here from the start I reflect on the major developments that have taken place by collaborative work and agreement over that time major developments taken forward by the labor and liberal executive such as the ban on smoking in public places or minimum unit pricing by the S&P government or the introduction of free bus travel for under 22s by the S&P green partnership I commit my government to working to create that agreement across the chamber I hope there is space and the willingness for that to happen in the interests of the people who sent us here now it is hardly a surprise to anyone in this chamber that I believe that this country could do more if we had the powers of a normal independent nation others in this chamber take the opposite view that is the essence of democracy people free to hold and express and pursue different opinions the question we face in this Parliament today however is a more practical one does our disagreement ment on the Constitution prevent us from working collaboratively within the existing powers of the parliament to eradicate child poverty build the economy support jobs address the cost of living crisis improve the health service and tackle the climate crisis I will give all of my energy and my willingness to engage and listen to ensure that that is not the case invite others to do the same presiding officer when I pitched up at Forester High School in this city in 1979 at the age of 15 wearing my SNP badge and my friends and teachers wondered why I had become involved in this Fringe party I could scarcely have imagined that my journey would involve becoming the first minister of Scotland it is an extraordinary privilege to hold this office and I thank Parliament warmly from for the honor that has been given to me to the people of Scotland I would say simply this I offer myself to be the first Minister for everyone in Scotland I am here to serve you I will give everything I have to build the best future for our country [Applause]

Channel: Sky News

Views: 8,154

Keywords: Scotland, Scottish, Holyrood, Edinburgh, SNP, Scottish National Party, Vote, Leadership, First minister, Nomination, Hearing, Scottish Parliament, john swinney, swinney, uk, sky news

Id: c8mo0NW3WPY

Length: 8min 53sec (533 seconds)

Published: Tue May 07 2024