Swinney says there is no need for an early election. Scotland has a fixed-term parliament system, and that allows changes of first minister without an election, he says.
Asked why he thinks he should be SNP leader, Swinney says he thinks the party needs “a strong, reassuring, experienced, skilled individual who can create the bridge to the future for our party at a moment of difficulty”.
Asked what job he might offer Forbes, Swinney says: “I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves.”
He also says he has made it “pretty clear there is going to have to be change”.
He is stepping up to the plate to deliver that, he says.
He also says, once he draws the SNP together, “the opposition parties better watch out what’s coming towards them”.
Swinney is now taking questions.
Asked about Kate Forbes, he says it is for her to set out her position.
He says they are friends. Of course they have talked about the leadership, he says.
He says he and Forbes worked on the Scottish child payment.
Scotland is in a better position than the characterisation put about, he says.
Swinney says he is ‘no caretaker’ and he would lead SNP into 2016 elections and beyond
Swinney ends by saying he would not be a short-term leader.
I am no caretaker. I am no interim leader. I’m offering to lead my party through the Westminster elections and to lead us beyond the 2026 elections – two contests which I intend to win for the SNP and for Scotland.
Swinney praises Kate Forbes and says he wants her to play ‘significant’ role in his team
Swinney says he would run an “inclusive” government.
And he makes an explicit pitch to Kate Forbes, his main rival.
I want Kate Forbes to play a significant part in that team.
She is an intelligent, creative, thoughtful person who has much to contribute to our national life. And, if elected, I will make sure that Kate is able to make that contribution.
Forbes is under pressure not to run against Swinney, which would allow him to take over as a unity candidate, probably unopposed. This is Swinney’s offer to her.
Swinney says the SNP is not as united as it should be.
He says he could have left it to others to sort this out.
But he goes on:
I care too much about the future of Scotland and the Scottish National Party to walk on by.
Having joined the SNP as a teenager, having helped bring my party from the fringes of politics to being the government of Scotland, having served as a senior minister for 16 years, and having helped steer Scotland so close to independence in 2014, I want to give all that I have in me to ensure the success of our cause.
He says he thinks he has the experience and skills to win the trust of people across Scotland.
Swinney says he wants the SNP to stand for what the people of Scotland want.
As first minister, his goals would come from the centre-left tradition, he says. That means “the pursuit of economic growth and social justice, economic growth not for its own sake, but to support the services and the society”.
Swinney says he wants to ‘unite SNP and unite Scotland for independence’
Swinney says he wants to “unite the SNP and unite Scotland for independence”. He goes on:
One of the benefits of stepping back from frontline politics a year ago is I’ve had the time and the opportunity to see our political situation from a different perspective than before.
There’s a huge amount that the SNP has achieved on behalf of the people of Scotland and much about which we should feel very, very proud: the Scottish child payment, free university tuition, the massive expansion of childcare and much much more.
SNP policies transform lives. They lift children from poverty, give them a better start in life and enable them to go to university.
Swinney confirms he is standing to be SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister
Swinney has confirmed he is standing for SNP leader.
John Swinney holds press conference
John Swinney is about to speak at his press conference in Edinburgh.
Màiri McAllan, energy secretary in the Scottish government, has just introduced him.
According to ITV’s Harry Horton, the Conservative MP Tom Hunt told colleagues last night that he would have difficulty voting today because he does not possess the right photo ID.
It was this government, of course, that introduced the legislation saying photo ID is required to vote.
Don’t forget that you need to bring ID when you vote tomorrow – unlike this Tory MP who is tonight asking local members for help pic.twitter.com/gSllCmvIrh
— Harry Horton (@harry_horton) May 1, 2024
Ireland tells UK government it is not deploying police at border with NI to block asylum seekers
Rory Carroll
Ireland has reiterated it will not deploy police to the border with Northern Ireland in an effort to ease one aspect of its asylum seeker row with the UK.
The Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he received the assurance from Ireland’s foreign minister, Micheál Martin, in a “constructive” phone call on Wednesday night.
It came after Rishi Sunak said the Irish government “must uphold its promises” to avoid a hard border and avoid setting up checkpoints to prevent asylum seekers entering the republic. Some UK media reported that Ireland was sending police to the border.
Ireland’s justice minister last week said 100 additional police officers would be made available for “frontline enforcement work”. Dublin officials say there was never an intention to put them on the border and blamed the spat on mischief which they said they hope will subside after the English and Welsh local elections.
Kate Forbes due to announce later today if she will be running for SNP leader
Kate Forbes, the former finance secretary in the Scottish government who was narrowly beaten by Humza Yousaf in last year’s SNP leadership contest is to make a statement on whether she will run for the SNP leadership, PA Media reports. PA says:
Forbes confirmed this week that she is weighing up another run at the top job after the resignation of Humza Yousaf on Monday.
Her announcement will come in the hours after former deputy first minister John Swinney – who has received support from a number of senior Cabinet figures – announces his own plans, with an expectation that he will put his name forward.
Chris Musson from the Scottish Sun says the Forbes announcement is coming mid afternoon.
Kate Forbes to make a statement on SNP leadership mid afternoon. Source close to Forbes says she’s still “weighing things up” https://t.co/boMcpcnFNY
— Chris Musson (@ChrisMusson) May 2, 2024
Sadiq Khan took his dog to the polling station, but Blue Cross, a pet welfare charity, is advising people to think twice about doing so, because some polling stations don’t let dogs in. “There’s a real risk that your beloved pet could be stolen if you leave them tied up alone outside, so take someone with you who can stay with your pet while you vote, or leave your pet at home,” it says.
In London Sadiq Khan, the Labour mayor, and Susan Hall, the Conservative candidate, and Khan’s main rival, have both already voted.
Daniel Boffey’s report on the Hall campaign in the Guardian today is well worth a read.
Kwasi Kwarteng calls Liz Truss ‘kind of Trumpian’ over firing by tweet
Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor of the exchequer for 43 of Liz Truss’s 49 days as British prime minister, has said Truss “essentially” sacked him “on Twitter”, a dismissal he called “kind of Trumpian” in its swiftness and brutality as Britain fell into crisis, Martin Pengelly reports.
Good morning. It’s local elections day and, although in terms of the number of seats being contested this is a smallish local elections round (around 2,600 council seats are up for grabs – last year it was more than 8,000), in other respects this is a major event in the local elections cycle, for four reasons.
First, everyone in England and Wales gets the chance to vote for at least something. In all of Wales, and in some parts of England, if you want to vote, you can only vote for a police and crime commissioner. But that’s still a vote.
Second, there are 10 metro mayor posts up for election. Two of these are brand new posts (East Midlands, and York and North Yorkshire), and one is half-new, an extension of an old post (North East, replacing North of Tyne). The extension of metro mayors is the biggest development in local government in Britain in the past decade, and this is the biggest round of mayoral elections yet.
Third, we’ve got a byelection too – in Blackpool South. Byelections can be a better guide to general election results than local elections, and this will be a good test of how well Labour is doing, and how much damage Reform UK can do to the Tory vote.
And, fourth (and most obviously), these are the last big elections before the general elections.
Here is Eleni Courea’s overnight preview.
Not much actual politics normally happens on election days, and sometimes this blog gets reduced to not much more than #dogsatpollingstations. But, thankfully, the SNP are providing us with some proper news. There are no local elections in Scotland, but there is an election about to take place there for SNP leader and first minister, and John Swinney is expected to announce he is standing at a news conference this morning. Libby Brooks has the details.
This announcement will shift the spotlight to Kate Forbes, who was runner up in the leadership contest last year and who has yet to announce whether or not she is standing. As Connor Gillies from Sky News reports, her decision may hinge on what Swinney has to say.
Kate Forbes will not be at John Swinney’s Edinburgh announcement today as speculation grows over the pair doing a deal, @SkyNews understands.
Told Ms Forbes feels big expectations to run from supporters who crave change, but decision hangs on the Swinney pitch at 10.30am.
— Connor Gillies (@ConnorGillies) May 2, 2024
Kate Forbes will not be at John Swinney’s Edinburgh announcement today as speculation grows over the pair doing a deal, @SkyNews understands.
Told Ms Forbes feels big expectations to run from supporters who crave change, but decision hangs on the Swinney pitch at 10.30am.
Forbes will want to make an assessment as to how strong Swinney is as a candidate, whether he is committed to change (“continuity won’t cut it” was her line in last year’s contest) and whether there would be a good role for her in a Swinney administration.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Kemi Badenoch, the business and trade secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
10.30am: Penny Mordaunt, leader of the Commons, makes a Commons statement on next week’s Commons business.
10.30am: John Swinney holds a press conference in Edinburgh.
11.30am: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.
Noon: Humza Yousaf takes first minister’s questions at Holyrood.
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