He’s widely known as Honest John and John Swinney has earned that nickname through a career spent telling it like it is. In his first stint as SNP leader he went into the 1999 Holyrood election asking Scots to back his idea of a “penny for Scotland” rise in income tax.
He knew if we wanted better schools and hospitals, we’d have to pay for it. Voters roundly rejected his plea and he lost that election badly, but at least he was honest with the voters about the economic reality.
In his second stint as SNP leader he has again enhanced his reputation for honest straight talking. He convinced enough of the people of Scotland that he could be trusted to keep the wheels of government rolling in the face of global economic storms and a Labour Government led by Keir Starmer.
Voters in May’s Holyrood election were willing to forgive the SNP for the failures and scandals of the Sturgeon era by handing him a thumping victory. There are few figures in Scottish politics with the know-how and charm to pull off a trick like that but Swinney managed it – and that’s largely down to his reputation for telling Scots the truth.
That’s what has made Swinney’s response to the SNP finance scandal so surprising. He has been a senior figure in the party for decades but when asked about what went wrong he started out with a “no comment”. Further responses have used more words but amounted to the same thing.
Up to this point much of the public’s anger – and mirth – has been directed at Nicola Sturgeon since her husband admitted nicking £400,000 of SNP money.
Her inability to see a £124,000 motorhome in her mother-in-law’s drive made her a laughing stock. Her lack of curiosity about an £80,000 Jag in her own driveway with no explanation of how it was paid for is even more incredible.
More importantly, her warning to party figures not to question the soundness of the SNP’s accounts raises questions about her own political conduct.
Sturgeon’s reputation was in the gutter thanks to her inability to describe the rapist Adam Graham – or Isla Bryson as he likes to be called – as a man.
Now her legacy is tarnished beyond repair due to her refusal to admit wrong-doing as party leader while members’ cash was being wasted on making her home look like an Aladdin’s Cave of bling.
Swinney has to be more forthcoming if he wants to avoid a similar fate. Dozens of members screamed their concerns over several years, including the sidelined MP Joanna Cherry.
Why were alarm bells not ringing in his ears? Why was he not asking similar questions? If he is such an honest man, John Swinney needs to start telling us more about who knew what – and when – and why concerns weren’t acted on.
Get Daily Record Premium for just £1 per month in exclusive offer to celebrate the world cup. Click HERE.
Article continues below
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE