John Swinney ready to ‘get on with the job’ as he is re-elected First Minister

John Swinney has said he is “determined to get on with the job” as he was voted in as Scotland’s First Minister.

After a series of votes on Tuesday, MSPs approved Mr Swinney as Parliament’s nominee for the role, and he is now expected to be formally sworn in at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday.

Leaders of all six of the parties at Holyrood had put themselves forward for the post, with Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Scottish Conservative counterpart Russell Findlay eliminated in the first two rounds of voting.

The third vote was between Swinney, Scottish Green co-leader Gillian Mackay, Malcolm Offord of Reform UK and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and the SNP leader secured the necessary majority, winning 56 of the 105 votes cast.

He promised Scots his Government will have an agenda that is both “ambitious” and “practical”, and said he has a “clear plan for the work ahead” and a “determination to deliver for the people of Scotland”.

He also made it clear he will continue to push for a second independence referendum – despite the SNP’s failure to win an overall majority in the Holyrood election.

Swinney’s party won 58 seats in the Scottish Parliament – six fewer than in the previous election and seven short of the overall majority their leader craved to try to force Westminster to permit a fresh ballot to be held on the future of the UK.

However, the SNP leader said the election had seen the “largest ever” number of pro-independence MSPs elected, as a record 15 Scottish Greens were returned.

“The people have again returned a pro-independence majority to this Parliament, the largest ever elected,” Mr Swinney told Holyrood.

“They have said with a resounding voice that the decision about Scotland’s future should be taken here in Scotland, and I will ensure that the people have the right to decide on their own future.”

He said that as the leader of the largest party at Holyrood, he has “a clear mandate from the people of Scotland” to be the First Minister.

Without an overall SNP majority, he also stressed his “willingness to work with others in the Parliament” in order to bring in “measures that will improve the lives of people in Scotland”.

He said he is “confident” there is a majority in the Parliament for all the policy proposals his party put forward during the election, and he will “work in ways that enable that majority to emerge”.

Swinney continued: “That is the agenda I offer the people of Scotland.

“It is ambitious, it is practical, it is ready to be delivered in this new Parliament with a new mandate and a Government determined to get on with the job.”

His call for a second independence vote was backed by Ms Mackay, who said while voters had been “promised big things” in the aftermath of the 2014 referendum, what they got “was Brexit, a decade of Westminster failure, a merry-go-round of prime ministers and ongoing climate breakdown”.

The Green co-leader declared: “People’s lives have gotten materially worse and Scotland must have our chance to choose differently.”

For Scottish Labour, Sarwar called for co-operation across the political spectrum.

“People are frustrated, angry and tired, and they are tired of political arguments that seem disconnected from their lives – and that should concern every one of us,” he said.

“If people lose faith not only in one party or in one government, but in the ability of politics itself to improve their lives, then that not only undermines our democracy, but opens up opportunities for those that seek to divide us.”

Offord said Scots should have a “first minister who wishes to build opportunity and prosperity for every Scot”, and he insisted Reform is the only party with this agenda.

“All we have seen from the SNP is record highs in tax and spend and grievance stoked against the United Kingdom for cynical political gain,” he added.

“Now, in partnership with the Greens, we have seen the politics of envy take root.”

Findlay, meanwhile, said the results of the ballot for First Minister had been a “foregone conclusion”.

But he said he put his name forward for the post “because it gives me the opportunity to put forward my vision for a better Scotland”.

Cole-Hamilton likewise admitted he knew he would not win the vote, but highlighted that his party returning 10 MSPs at the election was a “massive leap forward”.