SNP leader resigns
John Swinney, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) has resigned.
He told a press conference on Tuesday morning that he had decided to resign because “I couldn’t allow our message to be obscured by the constant speculation about my leadership.”
Mr Swinney said that the SNP was in the process of making the “difficult transition from a party of protest to a party of governance” and noted “the disappointment over the performance of devolution has undermined confidence in the case for self-government.”
“For those of us in the SNP, the case for Independence is clearly compelling. But many voters are telling us we have not yet answered their
key question: why Independence?
“We are not yet seen as an alternative government in waiting.”
“As leader I take full responsibility for the fact that that we have not made as much progress in these areas as I would have liked.”
He pledged his “support and loyalty” to his successor and said he would continue as a Member of the Scottish Parliament.
In a call for party unity, Mr Swinney said: “But given the scale of the challenges we face, what our members need and what I appeal for today is unity within the Scottish National Party to ensure our success. No member of the SNP should ever underestimate the damage that is caused to our movement by the loose and dangerous talk of the few.”
Mr Swinney has been under intense pressure in recent weeks following his party’s poor showing in the local and European elections.
Though the SNP managed to hang on to its two MEPs, its vote was sharply down by almost eight per cent and only just avoiding falling behind the Conservatives on vote share.
On Saturday Mr Swinney was due to face the party’s council for the first time since the election results.
Mr Swinney has faced sharp criticism in the past for his acceptance of devolution as a political settlement for Scotland, rather than pushing for full independence.
In the last week, senior figures in the party have openly declared against him.
In an open letter to the Sunday Herald Mike Russell, a former senior nationalist who lost his Holyrood seat last year, said the election results are a wake up call to the party.
Mr Russell wrote: “Common decency and your distinguished contribution demand that you be given some private space to decide on your immediate future, although you know that there are other factors involved too.
“But some of the spin is counterproductive. Your aides may think you are the only person able ‘to do the job’, but the job may no longer be what they think it is.”
Jim Sillars, former deputy leader of the SNP, was another high profile figure to weigh into the leadership debate
Mr Sillars said the party might only be woken up by a “leathering” at the next general election and called on Mr Swinney to go and accept that he has been leading the party in the wrong direction.
Aides for Mr Swinney have though repeatedly dismissed suggestions of a resignation as “froth”.
Nominations for the leadership are now open, with a successor expected to be announced in September.
No one has yet announced their candidacy.
