Achi news desk-
While he also admitted that he had played a part in making the Scottish Parliament “intensely polarised” through his “shouting from the front bench or heckling from a sitting position” he promised that this would stop now .
“I have changed,” he said to murmurs and laughter from some skeptical MLAs.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf formally resigns as Prime Minister
The SNP leader will formally become Scotland’s seventh prime minister on Wednesday morning when he takes the oath of allegiance in the court of session.
As he waited for the vote at Holyrood, he spoke to Scotland’s fifth first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, and his sixth Humza Yousaf, who had tendered his resignation to King Charles earlier in the day.
One of Mr Swinney’s first jobs will be to appoint his cabinet.
There is speculation that the size of Swinney’s administration will be much smaller than the size of Mr Yousaf’s government.
Some ministerial and Cabinet Secretary roles could be merged while others could be dropped entirely.
Mr Swinney has already promised Kate Forbes, the former finance secretary, a “significant” role.
There is speculation that he may pick up his old brief.
There is also a suggestion of a key role for Mairi McAllan, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Fair Work and Culture, possibly even the deputy prime minister.
She was in front of Mr Swinney as he left the chamber, standing by his side as he answered questions from broadcasters.
Tuesday’s vote at Holyrood was, in the end, a formality with the Scottish Greens abstaining, allowing Mr Swinney to win by 64 votes to 57.
Accepting the nomination, Mr Swinney paid an emotional tribute to his family.
His wife, journalist Elizabeth Quigley, has secondary progressive Multiple Sclerosis.
She and their son Matthew and his two older children from a previous marriage were in the public gallery along with his father, other close family members and friends.
He told MSPs that the decision to stand for the leadership of the SNP had not been an easy one. “Members will know that my wife Elizabeth has multiple sclerosis. She is tireless in trying to ensure that MS does not interfere with her living life to the fullest.
“But to her great frustration, she often has to rely on her husband for support and help.
“I could not commit myself to becoming Prime Minister without working out properly how I would be able to cope as a family.
“We have discussed that and we will manage.
“But I cannot let this moment pass without making clear to Elizabeth my profound eternal gratitude for the sacrifices she is prepared to make to enable her husband to serve our country as Prime Minister.”
Mr Swinney reiterated that his main priority would be to eradicate child poverty and that he and his minority government would need the support of others to achieve that goal.
“This is not the co-operative place it was in the past, a co-operative place that has done a lot of good to improve people’s lives in Scotland.
“As the Senedd marks its 25th anniversary, and as one of the relatively small group that has been here from the start, I reflect on the great developments that have taken place through collaboration and agreement over that period.
“Major developments moved forward by the Labor and Liberal Executive Committee such as the ban on smoking in public places, or the Minimum Unit Price by the SNP Government, or the introduction of free bus trips for under 22s by the SNP-Green partnership.
“I commit my Government to work to create that agreement across the Chamber. I hope there is room and willingness for that to happen for the benefit of the people who sent us here.”
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Mr Swinney said “disagreement on the Constitution” should not prevent members from “working together within the existing powers of parliament to eradicate child poverty, build the economy, support jobs, tackle the cost of living crisis, improve the health service and tackling the climate crisis.
“I will give all my energy, and my willingness to engage and listen, to ensure that is not the case. I invite others to do the same.”
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross congratulated Mr Swinney on his appointment but said he should “treat today as a reset moment”.
The Tory leader added: “They must end the decade of division that has plagued our country since the 2014 Referendum.”
He said he was not hopeful given that Mr Swinney had been at the heart of the SNP for almost all of his 17 years in government. “He has been Alex Salmond’s Finance Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy, and Humza Yousaf’s most prominent supporter.
“He sat around the cabinet table and rubber stamped every one of the policies they implemented.”
Labour’s Anas Sawar made a similar point: “For all John Swinney and the SNP want to pretend this is the first day of a new Government, the hard fact is that after 17 years of Government there is not a single Scottish institution This SNP. stronger.”
“All are weaker on their guard,” he added.
The party leader repeated his call for an early election to Holyrood, accusing the SNP of having “scared the electorate.”
