New faces take their places in Scottish parliament
Nearly half the Holyrood intake are first-time MSPs following mass exodus
The Scottish parliament’s 129 MSPs were sworn in at Holyrood today, with a record 64 new members – 46% of the total – appearing in the chamber.
The new faces, and the old, pledged their allegiance to the king, with some opting to take their oaths a second time in their chosen languages, including Gaelic, Scots and Doric and, in the case of Shetland’s first ever SNP MSP, Hannah Mary Goodlad, in Shetland dialect.
John Swinney was the first to be sworn in, as leader of the largest party, after the SNP won 58 seats at last Thursday’s elections.
Presiding officer
Both Labour and Reform won 17 seats, with the Greens securing 15, the Conservatives 12 and the Lib Dems 10.
A total of 73 MSPs were directly elected in constituencies and a further 56 through the regional, or list, system.
Today also saw the election of the new presiding officer, with the SNP’s Kenny Gibson beating three other contenders, including two fellow nationalists and Lib Dem Orkney MSP Liam McArthur.
Scotland’s new first minister will be voted on next Tuesday, with Swinney likely to be re-elected. He has already signalled that the SNP, which fell short of an overall majority, is ready to work with the other parties – barring Reform – to drive its legislative programme.
Conflicting priorities
On Tuesday, he held talks with the Scottish Greens to secure backing for the SNP’s agenda. The Greens were in a coalition agreement under previous first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, which broke up over their conflicting priorities.
While the SNP has been broadly supportive of the aquaculture sector, the Scottish Greens said in their manifesto: “We will pause new salmon farms and the expansion of existing ones until strict fish welfare and mortality rules are met.”
Ministers will also be appointed next week, including the new Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, replacing Mairi Gougeon, who stood down as an MSP at the election.
The committee appointments will then be announced over the following days, representing the make-up of the new parliament, with the greater numbers of Greens, plus new Reform politicians, expected to alter the dynamics.
