Swinney promotes ‘rising star' McAllan in cabinet reshuffle
Màiri McAllan, the MSP for Clydesdale, has returned from maternity leave and been named as the newly created housing secretary, as well as having an extra unofficial responsibility for media interviews.
The Scottish cabinet now consists of 12 members with the ministerial team reduced to 11 from 14.
Paul McLennan, who had been a junior housing minister, left the government at his own request, it was announced, with McAllan, who had previously been net zero and energy secretary, taking on overall responsibility for the portfolio.
With the housing brief promoted to cabinet level, McAllan will be tasked with tackling Scotland's housing emergency as well as passing reforms to ensure homes are more energy efficient — a move that ministers hope can bring down bills while also tackling climate change.
Senior SNP sources stressed 'the political significance' of her appointment. McAllan, 32, is highly regarded within the party and seen as a possible leadership contender in future.
Some have suggested that Swinney's successor will be one of McAllan, the deputy first minister Kate Forbes and the Westminster leader Stephen Flynn.
McAllan's former role as net zero and energy secretary has been filled by the Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin, who has been covering the post during McAllan's maternity leave.
However, Swinney's opponents said that the reshuffle was merely 'rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic' and contained the 'same old faces who have failed Scotland for far too long'.
There was no cabinet place for Ivan McKee, the public finance minister, who has been overlooked for a second time by Swinney despite his reputation as one of the few well-performing junior ministers.
Swinney described the reshuffle as 'modest' and said that the government was focused on four aims: eradicating child poverty, strengthening the economy, making the transition to net zero and improving public services, in particular the NHS.
Speaking on the steps of Bute House, the first minister said: 'I've decided to make modest changes to the government because I think it is essential that the government, which is far advanced in delivering its programme of improvement in the lives of the people in Scotland, is concentrated on that delivery, it's vital that we have all the time available to us in this parliamentary term to improve the lives of people in Scotland and that is what the government is going to do.'
The Scottish government is hoping to prioritise housebuilding on the back of the announcement of £39 billion for affordable and social homes over ten years by the UK chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in the spending review on Wednesday.
In the wider reshuffle, Maree Todd, the public health minister, has moved to the drugs and alcohol portfolio, replacing Christina McKelvie who died in March. Todd's role as social care minister has been taken by Tom Arthur, the former employment minister.
Some within the SNP had been hoping for a more extensive reshuffle to remove, or at least shift, poorly performing ministers, but claimed that Swinney's natural caution and a lack of talent among junior ministers and backbenchers had hampered big changes.
One SNP insider described it as a 'missed opportunity' and another nationalist derided it as 'more a wee shuffle than a reshuffle'.
Alex Neil, the former health secretary, said it was 'the same old, same old. Nowhere near the changes needed to win next year's election.'
The changes follow the party's unexpected loss in last week's Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse by-election to Labour. After the vote Swinney said that the SNP needed a period of 'soul searching' and that the result showed that Scottish voters were no longer prioritising independence.
It had been suggested that the first minister would take the opportunity to replace at least one of Shona Robison, the finance secretary, Fiona Hyslop, the transport secretary, and Mairi Gougeon, the rural affairs secretary, who have all announced they will leave the Scottish parliament next year.
Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Conservatives' deputy leader, said: 'Scots will be forgiven for thinking 'is that it'? John Swinney is leading a government that is not only out of ideas, but out of personnel too.
'He's rearranged the deckchairs on the Titanic and ended up with the same old faces who have failed Scotland for far too long.'
Jackie Baillie, Scottish Labour's deputy leader, said: 'The SNP lost the by-election in Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse because they failed to listen to the priorities of people who have been badly let down by the government at Holyrood.
'If, after 18 years in power, the best John Swinney has to offer as an answer to the issues facing Scots is to shuffle his cabinet around, then that is simply not good enough.'
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