Fm john swinney: my priorities for scotland — scottish national party

IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU TODAY, AND I THANK THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO SET OUT MY ASPIRATIONS IN GOVERNMENT AS WE APPROACH ST

ANDREW’S DAY.  This esteemed building – the gathering place of the Royal Society of Edinburgh – is the perfect place to discuss the challenges we face as a nation, and how we can best

address them together. Day in, day out, Fellows of the Royal Society share their expert knowledge and independent advice with policymakers, with the purpose of “growing, exploring, and

sharing knowledge for a thriving Scotland”. A precursor to Academies and Royal Societies was the Republic of Letters, which developed across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. Long

before emails and video conferencing, this vast network of correspondents shared knowledge and discovery through an endless number of letters and visits. This was a time when David Hume

wrote to Benjamin Franklin, and argued with Jean-Jaques Rousseau. It was a time when Humboldt dined with Goethe, and Voltaire wrote close to 15,000 letters. Through all this correspondence

and discussion, the Republic of Letters sped the advancement of the public good. They developed deeper understandings of the problems of their day.  They found a shared approach to tackling

those problems. And they increased the speed of society’s advancement. I am far from certain we could describe some of the use of social media today as communication that has sped the

advancement of the public good. I want to speak with you today about the shared approach that lay at the heart of that early communication. Having recently marked six months in office as

First Minister – and as we look towards the publication of our budget next week – this feels like an ideal moment to set out my style of government. Firstly, let me say that every day in

office is an extraordinary privilege. No two days are the same – some are more challenging than others – but every single day I meet inspirational people from all walks of life. People who

are doing their bit to make their communities, their businesses or their country better today than it was yesterday. When added together, those efforts form the engine of progress that is

driving our country forward. For me, unlocking that potential is what government is about. It is about creating the conditions for every person in Scotland to thrive. And it means thinking

carefully about what kind of country we seek to build. I believe Scotland would best be served by a robust, resilient wellbeing economy. One that promotes economic and social equality, and

decarbonises our communities. One that values the health and happiness of its people, as much as their productivity. So, when I accepted the role of First Minister, I stated there were four

priorities behind which I would throw the full weight of my Government: Eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate crisis, and improving public services. I chose

these priorities carefully. Clearly, they are not mutually exclusive. And taken together, delivering on them puts Scotland on a path to a sustainable and prosperous future for all. But I

also recognise that government cannot do this alone. So rather, I favour an approach much like the correspondents in the Republic of Letters long ago, and much like the universities and

research institutions of today. Scotland is best served when we collaborate, when we build consensus and work together across sectors, across disciplines and across cultures. The need to do

so has never been more urgent. For the issues we face now are complex, pervasive and entrenched. And they are mounting. In these last 7 years, we have seen global challenges stacked upon

global challenges. From Brexit and Covid, to international conflicts, economic crises and climate disasters. On top of this, we have seen domestic problems, like delayed discharge and the

availability of housing, become more and more acute, due rapidly increasing need in our society. I refer to this time as a long, dark winter, because for most people, it’s increased

uncertainty, anxiety and hardship. So the question I am facing up to as First Minister is how do we now prepare the ground for spring? As a society we expect – not wrongly, I would argue –

for our leaders and our government to have a deep understanding of the issues of the day. We expect them to grasp the root causes and the complexity of those issues enough to find the right

solutions, not merely the quick and easy ones. Yet, too often – and particularly in politics – discussions and the public discourse are dominated by surface solutions, because they are the

few that can gain consensus. Because the hard work of finding true consensus, of peer reviewing ideas in good faith, can feel unrealistic in this – our increasingly polarised reality. In a

year that has seen more people take part in elections than ever before, across the globe, the outcomes have lurched to the right. Because when things are difficult, it is natural that people

want a direct and immediate response. They want their fears and problems to go away. But history, and the example of the Republic of Letters, tell us that we must resist that urge. We must

maintain enough hope and energy to work together, to understand the root causes and the complexity of problems. And to find the right solutions. These solutions may not always be quick. 

They may not always be easy. But that does not make them any less necessary. This then, is the approach that people should expect from a Swinney government. I do not believe in trying to

solve problems from the top down. Rather, I believe they need to be solved from the bottom up. I am not here to dictate from on high to those on the front line. I am prepared to roll my

sleeves up – and the sleeves of my Government – to properly understand barriers to progress and to find solutions. And in identifying those solutions, I am not looking for popular

quick-fixes or sticking plasters. I am here to do the hard work, to lay the foundations for lasting improvements to our country, our economy, and our society. I do not pretend that this

style of government is always headline-grabbing, but I do believe it is effective. And, in the long run, I know the results will speak for themselves. Let me give a few examples of this

approach, and how it is paying off. Delayed discharge in our hospitals is an issue which is never far from the headlines. And rightly so. Delayed discharge is a canary in the coalmine for

our National Health Service. It tells us that the flow of people through hospital is not happening as it should. That people are not getting the right care in the right place. That causes

pressure everywhere else. If we can tackle this issue, we can drive improvements in care across the system, and provide better care for everyone. The public discourse around delayed

discharge focuses on the national picture, where the numbers are – of course, far too high. But that masks the fact that in some areas, delayed discharge is, in fact, rare. So, to address it

nationally, we must understand why some parts of Scotland are successful, and support others to replicate that success elsewhere. That is the focus of my government. We are working with

areas with high levels of delay to understand their challenges. And we are drawing in expertise to deliver the right changes for them. It looks different in different parts of Scotland, but

we know there is excellent practice out there – we want to share it. I would characterise this approach as the activist government I expect. Another example is in housing and planning. Here,

we are working with housebuilders, local authorities and businesses to understand what, precisely, is blocking the delivery of homes on specific sites across Scotland. This will enable us

to identify the concrete actions that will more practically support development. While planning is not responsible for the housing emergency, our fully devolved planning system – and the

planning profession – are well-placed to deliver solutions. For example, we are about to introduce new masterplanning powers that will enable planning authorities to take a proactive lead

and grant planning permission upfront. This will support a “collaboration over conflict” approach and help us to move past some of the cross-sector issues that are too common in our planning

system. We cannot fix the systemic blockers to housing overnight. But we can and should work together to cut through entrenched positions and find positive solutions. And then there is our

transition to a net zero economy. This requires us to redesign huge parts of our society, and systems that have existed for generations.  It also takes unprecedented levels  of investment.

Here again, my government is looking to take a collaborative, ground up approach. Through work with the Scottish National Investment Bank and regional enterprise agencies, we are

jumpstarting private investment in renewables. And filling gaps in capital available to businesses. We are introducing planning reforms and allocating more resource to consenting. All of

this is incentivising renewable industries to invest in Scotland’s communities. And industry has responded.  This is how Scotland became home to the world’s first floating offshore wind

farm. It is how Sumitomo’s cable factory investment came to the Highlands. And how the major redevelopment project at Ardersier Port has been secured with Haventus. Focused use of public

investment to secure significant private sector investment is therefore a key intervention by my Government. When I draw a line from the portraits of eminent women scientists in this room

back to the Republic of Letters, one thing is clear to me. Scotland’s advancement as a progressive society is a journey that will continue to unfold. Even 100 years ago, such an exhibition

of anything other than male scientists would have been a scandal. Yet here we are.  There are many setbacks, there are many milestones still to be reached when it comes to equality, but just

look around the room at how far we’ve come. So I want us to make progress in one aspect of inequality above all – the foremost priority of my Government – ending child poverty. Yesterday,

Social Security Scotland announced that we have reached the milestone of paying £1 billion to support families through our five family payments. I am proud of the impact these payments are

having on reducing child poverty. But the fact that we need to make these payments – the fact that we _WILL CONTINUE_ to need to make these payments – shows that, as impactful as they are,

the root of the problem goes far deeper. I hear, time and again, that services don’t speak to each other. That the effort needed to navigate them is exhausting. Frontline staff tell me they

struggle to help people the way they want to. Councils tell me they are constrained by numerous, small pockets of funding, all with strings attached. In my Programme for Government, I

committed to introducing more flexibility in how services can be designed, and resources pooled, so as to better support the families who need them most. So we are committed to collaboration

between national and local governments, and with community partners. Together, we can redesign systems that are integrated, locally responsive and focussed on improving lives. There are

already so many examples of best practice to learn from in places like Glasgow, Dundee, and Clackmannanshire. In next week’s budget, we will set out the important next steps we will take to

support this reform. And we will prioritise the funding and investment needed to build on the progress I have mentioned. This budget will be a statement of our intent to deliver real and

lasting progress for Scotland. Despite a difficult fiscal context, we will focus our every effort on delivering not only the quick solutions, but the right ones. And that, ultimately, will

prevent the need for greater investment down the line. There is, of course, an important point to the budget process which strikes at the heart of the message I am setting out today. In a

parliament of minorities, no political party is a mere bystander in the budget process – more appropriately, they should be seen as partners. Certainly that is how I have always seen them in

my many years of negotiating budget Bills, and I hope that is how they see themselves. But that increased power does, of course, come with increased responsibility. Collaboration is only

effective if it leads to progress being delivered. “Opposition for opposition’s sake” is all well and good where governments have comfortable majorities. But, put simply, in the Scottish

Parliament if there is no collaboration, then there is no budget Bill. As we have prepared this year’s budget, we have engaged extensively with civic Scotland. We have listened to our

business community about the barriers they face, but also the enormous future opportunities we can help unleash. We have engaged in the substantive dialogue I promised with local government.

We have brought together public authorities, philanthropists and voluntary organisations to find common solutions. And we have given great consideration to suggestions from other political

parties in a wide range of areas. Next week’s budget will bear the fruits of that collective, collaborative effort. And when the Finance Secretary Shona Robison presents the Budget, my

challenge to the other Members of the Scottish Parliament is this: We can choose to be mired in party politics.  Or we can choose to put first and foremost our duty to the people we

represent. We can act with wisdom, in the collective good.  We can advance the prospects of the people of Scotland. But only if we are prepared to reach agreement to do so. When I look at

the wealth of hard work and talent around our country, I am optimistic – confident, even – that Scotland has the agility, ideas and audacity to achieve further real progress. Scotland is a

community in which we can readily – physically and metaphorically – come together. That can happen in a devolved Scotland. I believe we would be able to achieve much more with the full

powers of an independent country. But what we can do is use our position as Scotland’s national government to bring people together to tackle complex, systemic problems such as child

poverty. We can bring leaders and officials closer to communities. And, unlike the correspondents of the Republic of Letters, we don’t have to wait weeks for a letter to arrive by coach. We

can more easily walk through communities ourselves, speak to people, and understand first-hand the issues that affect them. This is particularly important in a country like Scotland, where

the picture in the Central Belt can be so different to the Borders or the Highlands or the Islands. Being closer to our communities also makes it easier for us to bring those communities

into policymaking. Government from the ground up. And, as the persistence of child poverty shows, that collaboration is not only important. It is essential. We need local government, public

institutions, businesses and people to keep this country running. We need them every bit as much as they need an effective central government. So, as the Republic of Letters pioneered open

science, we must pioneer open dialogue. We must break down entrenched silos and invite people into government. Nothing significant in public policy will every come from a siloed,

protectionist approach to policy making. We must focus on outcomes, on impact and on delivery – so that everyone in Scotland can finally see spring on the horizon again. Voltaire, the French

philosopher and prolific contributor to the Republic of Letters, wrote – “We look to Scotland for all our ideas of civilisation.” Yes, Scotland offered those ideas.  But at that time,

Scotland was far from the pinnacle of civilisation. It was home to staggering poverty and inequality. We have come far from that time, and we must now be ready to work to make the progress I

hope for and know Scotland is capable of. The Republic of Letters sparked a period of scientific and political advancement. It was a tremendous step forward for civilisation. It gave birth

to the Enlightenment. If that’s the scale of what can be achieved by letters, imagine what we can do with the inventiveness, creativity and talent we have available to us. Scotland, without

doubt, has that strength and ingenuity. So, will we continue to be entrenched in our silos? Blaming the other? Waiting for season’s change? Or will we choose to advance together with renewed

purpose? The people I’ve met in Scotland as First Minister, the people I’ve met in my 27 years so far as a parliamentarian, want us to do that in Scotland. I hope in the period to come, we

can respond with generosity to the challenge that the people of Scotland have put before us.