{"id":46767,"date":"2024-05-09T10:06:38","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T10:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/09\/john-swinney-axes-minister-for-independence-role\/"},"modified":"2024-05-09T10:06:38","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T10:06:38","slug":"john-swinney-axes-minister-for-independence-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/09\/john-swinney-axes-minister-for-independence-role\/","title":{"rendered":"John Swinney axes minister for independence role"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John<\/div>


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John Swinney has axed the post of minister for independence from his ministerial team.<\/p>\n

The role, the first of its kind, was created last year by then first minister Humza Yousaf.<\/p>\n

Jamie Hepburn, who previously held the Scottish government post, has now taken over from George Adam as minister for parliamentary business.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Thursday, SNP MP Alyn Smith appeared to confirm during a radio interview that the role had been “subsumed” into Angus Robertson’s constitution, external affairs and culture brief.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Jamie Hepburn, then minister for independence, pictured last summer alongside then first minister Humza Yousaf and then deputy first minister Shona Robison. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mr Swinney was legally sworn in as Scotland’s seventh first minister<\/a><\/strong> at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

He unveiled a largely unchanged cabinet<\/a><\/strong> but did appoint Kate Forbes as his deputy.<\/p>\n

A team of 14 ministers was later announced, with the minister for independence role dropped.<\/p>\n

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\n \"First\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n First Minister John Swinney outside Bute House with his newly appointed cabinet. Pic: Reuters\/Lesley Martin
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\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Mr Swinney was unopposed in the SNP<\/a><\/strong> leadership contest following Mr Yousaf’s resignation and promised a “new chapter” for the party.<\/p>\n

As first minister, he has pledged to use “respect and courtesy” to make the case for Scottish independence.<\/p>\n

Later on Thursday, he will take part in First Minister’s Questions for the first time in his new role.<\/p>\n

Read more:<\/strong>
Who is John Swinney?<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News<\/p>\n

Tap here<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \"First\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n Humza Yousaf and Lorna Slater taking part in a Believe in Scotland march in Edinburgh last September. Pic: PA
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The Scottish Tories branded the post “divisive and wasteful” and said the SNP government’s “obsession with independence needs to go with it”.<\/p>\n

Chairman Craig Hoy added: “John Swinney has doubled down on the SNP’s separation fixation, as his campaign slogan – uniting for independence – illustrates.”<\/p>\n

Responding to Mr Smith’s BBC Good Morning Scotland interview that the post had been “subsumed” into Mr Robertson’s brief, Mr Hoy added: “John Swinney’s more-of-the-same government is happy to foster division across Scotland by focusing on the one issue the feuding SNP can agree on.<\/p>\n

“In doing so, he is ignoring the public’s real priorities – fixing Scotland’s ailing public services and growing the economy.<\/p>\n

“Like Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf before him, John Swinney is putting the nationalist interest before the national interest.”<\/p>\n

Willie Rennie said he is “delighted” the ministerial post is gone.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Liberal Democrats MSP for North East Fife said: “For months I have been campaigning to free the Cumbernauld One from the drudgery of producing independence paper after independence paper that no one reads.<\/p>\n

“I am delighted to say that goal has now been achieved.<\/p>\n

“The Scottish government needs to have a laser focus on the issues that really matter, like tackling long waits for healthcare and violence in our schools.”<\/p>\n

The Scottish government has been contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n \"The\n <\/div>
\n Image:<\/span>
\n The Scottish cabinet. Pic: SPICe\/Scottish parliament
\n <\/span>
\n <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Cabinet:<\/strong>
\u2022 Kate Forbes, the youngest-ever deputy first minister, will take on the economy portfolio and responsibility for Gaelic
\u2022 Shona Robison remains in cabinet with responsibility for finance and local government
\u2022 Jenny Gilruth remains cabinet secretary for education and skills
\u2022 Angela Constance remains cabinet secretary for justice and home affairs
\u2022 Mairi McAllan remains in cabinet with responsibility for net zero and energy
\u2022 Fiona Hyslop remains cabinet secretary for transport
\u2022 Neil Gray remains cabinet secretary for health and social care
\u2022 Shirley-Anne Somerville remains cabinet secretary for social justice
\u2022 Angus Robertson remains cabinet secretary for constitution, external affairs and culture
\u2022 Mairi Gougeon remains cabinet secretary for rural affairs, land reform and islands<\/p>\n

Ministers:<\/strong>
\u2022 Jamie Hepburn, minister for parliamentary business
\u2022 Richard Lochhead, minister for business
\u2022 Tom Arthur, minister for employment and investment
\u2022 Ivan McKee, minister for public finance
\u2022 Natalie Don, minister for children, young people and The Promise
\u2022 Graeme Dey, minister for higher and further education
\u2022 Siobhian Brown, minister for victims and community safety
\u2022 Gillian Martin, minister for climate action
\u2022 Jim Fairlie, minister for agriculture and connectivity
\u2022 Jenni Minto, minister for public health and women’s health
\u2022 Maree Todd, minister for social care, mental wellbeing and sport
\u2022 Christina McKelvie, minister for drugs and alcohol policy
\u2022 Kaukab Stewart, minister for equalities
\u2022 Paul McLennan, minister for housing<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n


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John Swinney has axed the post of minister for independence from his ministerial team. The role, the first of its kind, was created last year by then first minister Humza Yousaf. Jamie Hepburn, who previously held the Scottish government post, has now taken over from George Adam as minister for parliamentary business. Earlier on Thursday, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46768,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/e3.365dm.com\/24\/05\/768x432\/skynews-humza-yousaf-independence_6548082.jpg?20240509100541","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[603],"tags":[47569,9650,496,2124,266,41046],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46767"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46767"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46767\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46769,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46767\/revisions\/46769"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46767"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46767"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46767"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}