JOHN Swinney has been slammed for repeatedly refusing to say he’d honour a flagship SNP pledge to recruit 3,500 more teachers by 2026.
The new First Minister was put on the spot about the Scottish Parliament election manifesto pledge at his inaugural FMQs on Thursday after taking over from Humza Yousaf.
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And it took him just 50 seconds of his first response to blame the UK Government for the risk of the SNP Government not fulfilling the promise.
It came amid anger over staff cuts in Glasgow, and the latest stats showed a drop of more than 200 posts in Scotland.
But Mr Swinney – Education Secretary in 2021 when the promise was made – refused FOUR times to say if he’d stick to the teachers pledge.
In response to a question from Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross – who asked him whether he’d stick to the vow – Mr Swinney said: “I have to answer directly, Mr Ross’s question, about the challenges we face in the public finances, due to the pressures of inflation, and the persistence of austerity that is framing public expenditure from the United Kingdom government.
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“But I assure Mr Ross, and parents most importantly in the city of Glasgow and around the country, of the government’s commitment to sustained investment in education to maximise the investment we can make available.”
We told this week how the new First Minister faced fury from parents and demands to step in to reverse teacher cuts in Scotland’s largest city, where the SNP-led council is set to axe 450 classroom posts.
It comes despite the SNP’s 2021 manifesto pledge to “recruit 3500 additional teachers and classroom assistants, allowing teachers more time out of the classroom to prepare lessons and improve their skills”.
And at FMQs, Mr Swinney – who this week vowed to turn over a new leaf after becoming known for his aggressive heckling in the Holyrood chamber – refused a further three times to give a Yes/No answer.
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Mr Ross said: “We were supposed to have a ‘different style of politics’, but it sounds like the excuses are the same as we’ve had before.”
In his responses, Mr Swinney repeatedly said he wanted to be “clear” with parents but pointed to the ”effect of austerity” and “a rampant increase in inflation on the watch of the Conservatives”. He added: “We will set out our commitments as we take Budget decisions.
Pushed for a Yes/No answer by Mr Ross, the First Minister said: “I’ve nothing really to add to Douglas Ross about the financial position we face.”
However, Mr Ross accused Mr Swinney of “not being straight with the public”.
We told how parents took to the streets of Glasgow in protest at the SNP-led council’s decision to axe 450 classroom posts.
And campaigners raised fears over similar losses across Scotland as they urged the First Minister to step in and reverse the slashing of numbers.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, who spoke with some of those who gathered in the city’s George Square on Wednesday, said: “Of the teachers I met, one told me they had re-trained two years ago and was now going to lose her job.
“Another hasn’t been able to get a permanent contract since he qualified, and a third said this doesn’t feel like the thanks and reward the Government promised them coming out of the pandemic.
“John Swinney bears responsibility for the broken finances in our councils and the decimation of our education system.”
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And speaking after FMQs, Tory chief Mr Ross said: “John Swinney’s repeated failure to stand by the pre-election pledge he made as education secretary to increase teacher numbers will have been heard loud and clear across Scotland.”
At a post-FMQs media briefing, a spokesman for the First Minister said Mr Swinney had shown “complete candour” about the financial pressures faced by the government.
But when pressed by The Scottish Sun on why the First Minister refused to give a straight Yes or No answer about whether the pledge will still be delivered, the spokesman said: “He gave a commitment that he wanted to look very carefully at this and he wanted to engage with local authorities, and indeed, with parents and others.”
Mr Swinney’s inaugural FMQs in the top job came just days after he was officially confirmed as the new SNP leader and First Minister following the resignation of Humza Yousaf.
In a speech accepting the leadership of the SNP this week – having stood unopposed for the job – Mr Swinney vowed to adopt a different approach to politics and suggested nothing would be achieved by “shouting at people”.
And before FMQs, new Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes heaped praise on Mr Swinney, saying he had been “truly inspiring” over the past week.
Mr Swinney – Nicola Sturgeon’s No2 during her entire tenure as First Minister – revealed a “new” cabinet with only one change, bringing in Ms Forbes as Deputy First Minister. But all of Humza Yousaf’s top team stayed in place.
As she walked to the Holyrood chamber for FMQs, the Scottish Sun asked Ms Forbes about her waspish comments during the 2023 SNP leadership race in the wake of Ms Sturgeon’s resignation that “continuity won’t cut it”, and how that squared with the virtually unchanged regime.
She said: “Well, I was very clear in my statement last week about why I wasn’t going to run.
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“I had huge confidence in the agenda that John Swinney had set out about uniting the party and the country and ensuring that we work together to deliver on the priorities of the people of Scotland.
“That remains my position, and I think he has been truly inspiring in the speeches that he’s given over the last week, doubling down on his commitments to unify, to deliver and to ultimately make sure that as a government we are delivering for people.”
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