John Swinney has said that he wishes his mum “had still been alive to see me become First Minister.” The SNP leader said speaking to his mother about his job is the one conversation he would have liked to have this year but couldn’t.
Agnes Swinney, known as Nancy, died at the beginning of the Covid lockdown in 2020. John Swinney was deputy first minister under Nicola Sturgeon at that time.
When asked by The Big Issue which conversation he wished he could have had in 2024, Swinney said: “I wish my mum had still been alive to see me become first minister and to chat about what it is like.”
Swinney became first minister earlier this year, taking over from Humza Yousaf. He had previously been set to wind down from politics after a quarter of a century in the Scottish Parliament. Swinney previously led the SNP in opposition between 2000 and 2004. But his tenure did not have electoral success.
The FM also said his biggest goal for 2025 was “eradicating child poverty”. He added that his biggest failure of the year was that he “failed to hold onto the slightly quieter life I had before becoming first minister.”
He said “being chosen to serve as first minister of Scotland” was his standout moment of the year. He added: “It is a tremendous honour and I will give the role all that I have in me.”
The SNP leader also said he is “more hopeful” than he was at the start of the year: “The best part of my job is getting to meet people from all walks of life who are working hard to improve our world. Their passion, enthusiasm and dedication gives me hope for the future. “
The MSP for Perthshire North said that “positive action on climate change” was something that the world got right this year, but that wars are what it got wrong. He said: “Millions across the globe continue to live in fear as conflicts rage. The world did not do enough to stop the suffering in Gaza and did not do enough to support Ukraine to repel Russia.”
The 60-year-old said the most odd family Christmas tradition is that “we buy our Christmas tree at the very last minute. It started off as something we just did because time was always under pressure but it has become a bit of a tradition.”
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