Do we like John Swinney?
Our score: 7 out of 10. He has stood by trans people's rights and pushed hard on child poverty, but has walked back a flagship school meals pledge and has had a messy year over the Murrell case.
John Swinney is the SNP leader and Scotland's First Minister, in the job since 2024. Most of the fights in his government's orbit have been about money, trust and the rights of trans people, not personal scandal. Nothing recent in the sources we could date points to anything new and fresh blowing up around him lately.
The big mess was the Peter Murrell case. In February 2026 it emerged the Lord Advocate had emailed Swinney about the charge that the SNP's former chief executive had embezzled almost £460,000 from the party, days before it was made public. Swinney declined to say why, calling it “This is a live criminal case.” Labour's Anas Sarwar said it looked “dodgy”, and the Crown Office said the email was sent for transparency and the Lord Advocate wasn't involved in the case. Nobody has accused Swinney himself of taking anything.
On the harm test, his own words are on the right side. He told BBC Radio Scotland he accepted that transgender women are defined as women, and in 2025 he backed government guidance letting trans staff use the facilities they feel most comfortable with, adding it must not disadvantage other staff. He also said he doesn't regret backing the Gender Recognition Reform Bill, even as Labour and the Tories turned on it. That is exactly the sort of position that costs a leader votes, and he held it.
He has also been blunt about the far right. In March 2026 he said Reform UK's rise owes something to prejudice, as well as to anger and frustration, which is the kind of thing plenty of politicians avoid saying. Reform's side has hit back, with its deputy leader calling him a jealous juvenile. It is his words, not a record of votes, so it counts for less than a policy would.
Where he loses points is on promises. The 2021 SNP manifesto pledged free school meals for every primary pupil, and in September 2024 Swinney confirmed the plan wouldn't reach P6 and P7 universally, blaming budget pressure. The Greens said that left children hungry, and the Tories said it would be his legacy. It is a real broken promise, though it is not a harm to anyone's rights.
The good stuff is mostly policy. He has pushed Westminster to scrap the two-child benefit limit, calling it “unconscionable”, and said Scotland would mitigate it itself. He points to free bus travel, free prescriptions and the Scottish child payment, and says child poverty is lower in Scotland than the UK average. The UK Government hasn't committed to his ask, so where you land depends on how much credit you give a government for fixing what it can.