Shortly after midday on Monday, the deadline for other contenders to join the contest, the SNP confirmed Swinney as its next leader, ending uncertainty around a possible weeks-long process that would have ensued if there were more candidates.
Former finance minister Kate Forbes, who narrowly lost a leadership contest to Yousaf when Nicola Sturgeon resigned as leader last year, was expected to run but ruled herself out on Thursday. Forbes had said she and Swinney shared a “common purpose”.
Over the weekend, there were also reports that party activist Graeme McCormick was hoping to challenge Swinney for the leadership, but Sky News reported late on Sunday that he had decided not to proceed with his nomination citing a statement from him.
That left Swinney, who was SNP leader from 2000-2004 and had also served as Scotland’s deputy first minister and finance minister, as the sole nominee in the contest.
SNP PLAGUED BY SCANDALS
The SNP has dominated Scottish politics for 17 years but its popularity has slipped over the past year amid a funding scandal, a series of political blunders, and criticism of how it runs the country. It now heads a minority government in Holyrood.
The slide has boosted the hopes of Britain’s opposition Labour Party of regaining ground in Scotland, one of the United Kingdom’s four nations, as it seeks to win a British parliamentary election expected later this year.
The SNP aims to reinvigorate the push for another referendum on independence from the United Kingdom.
Scots voted against splitting from the United Kingdom by 55% against 45% in a referendum in 2014, but the independence movement says Britain’s later departure from the European Union changed the situation and another referendum is justified – a claim that both the ruling Conservative Party and Labour reject.
Yousaf will remain first minister until his replacement is elected. Swinney is likely to be elevated to that position later this week.
