Profile: Who's in John Swinney's new Scottish Cabinet?

Today the First Minister said his Cabinet would "help drive real and urgent progress in eradicating child poverty, driving economic growth, and tackling the climate emergency". 

He added: "Ahead of my appointment as First Minister, I committed to working collaboratively across the Parliament to address the pressing issues facing the people of Scotland.

“With that in mind, I have selected a Cabinet team that blends experience and energy, with a strong focus on the priorities my Government will pursue – eradicating child poverty, driving economic growth, meeting climate obligations and investing in our vital public services.
“My overriding priority will be to work to eradicate child poverty in Scotland, an issue on which real progress has been made through measures such as the Scottish Child Payment. The Government I lead will maximise every lever at our disposal to tackle the scourge of poverty in our country.

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“A strong economy supports the delivery of services on which people depend – health, education, housing, and transport – and so each of these areas are aligned to distinct roles in my Cabinet, with a focus on ensuring people see their lives improve as a result of the actions of their Scottish Government. 

“I believe that Scotland’s future is best served as an independent country – but I recognise more people need to be convinced of that before independence can be achieved. My Cabinet will also focus efforts on reaching out to those who remain unconvinced, with respect and courtesy, to ensure that the people of Scotland have the democratic right to choose their own future.”

Who is in the Cabinet?

Kate Forbes, 34: Deputy First Minister, the youngest-ever to hold the position, she will take on the economy portfolio and responsibility for Gaelic.
"An immensely talented politician" — Those were the words First Minister John Swinney chose to describe Kate Forbes, his new deputy. 
As finance secretary in Nicola Sturgeon's government, Ms Forbes was seen as a competent operator who stayed on top of her brief. Her rise was meteoric, having been propelled into the job following swift exit of her predecessor Derek Mackay over the scandal of his unsolicited communications with a teenage boy.  

Kate Forbes has been named as Deputy First Minister.   Photo: PA.

She lost out to Humza Yousaf in the leadership contest, where her strong religious views - which include opposition to same-sex marriage - came under scrutiny. Then she lost her job, turning down a move to Rural Affairs, seen as a demotion to keep her onside. 

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But it was a question of if, not when, she would return to the government given her experience and support within the party and public at large. A recent poll even put her ahead of John Swinney as people's pick for the next First Minister. 
Joining the Cabinet as Swinney's deputy will go a long way to bringing differing factions within the SNP together. 
And it may even put her in pole position for another tilt at the First Minister title, should John Swinney give way.   
First Minister Swinney said: “She is an immensely talented politician, and her new role will prove critical as we focus on our key commitments of eradicating child poverty, investing in public services and supporting economic growth.”

Shona Robison, 57: Ms Robison resigned from her role as DFM to make way for Ms Forbes, but she remains in Cabinet with responsibility for finance and local government.
Like Mr Swinney, 60, she is one cabinet member who was first elected to Holyrood in 1999.
She was a key player in Humza Yousaf's campaign to be SNP leader and is a close friend of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon.
There was little surprise when she became Mr Yousaf's deputy and some speculation whether she would remain in Cabinet under Mr Swinney. Ms Robison, pictured below, was not present at his campaign launch last week.

Her time in government has not always gone smoothly. Ms Sturgeon made her Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport, but she resigned in 2018 amid a growing clamour for her to quit.
Ms Robison was brought back in 2021, as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government where she was responsible for pushing through the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Ms Robison will face considerable challenges with the Scottish government’s finances in a poor state. Under Ms Robison’s tenure, it froze council tax but raised income tax further and introduced spending cuts across the public services. A previous plan by Ms Forbes, when she was finance secretary, for government reform was shelved by Ms Robison when she took over the job. Ms Robison will have to repair relations with local government after a turbulent year of funding cuts and a council tax freeze.

Neil Gray, 38: Health and Social Care Secretary

The former MP, 38, took over as health secretary from Michael Matheson earlier this year.
He was among the first to endorse Mr Swinney as SNP leader and FM.
Mr Gray was Mr Yousaf’s campaign manager during last year's battle for Bute House. Though he's only been an MSP since 2021, he served as an MP for six years prior to moving to Holyrood.

He is tipped as a future leader, but close friends said he didn’t feel ready this time. Mr Gray, pictured below, is a former journalist with BBC Radio Orkney.

Tackling NHS waiting lists is likely to be Mr Gray’s biggest challenge, while facing a crisis in recruitment and retention of staff. The capital budget for new hospitals and health facilities is also a concern with a revised way forward expected soon. The Scottish Government’s watered-down, social care plan is also in need of direction and cash. Ministers will also need to adopt a position on the recommendations of the Cass review, into children’s gender identity services.

Jenny Gilruth, 40: Education and Skills
The former modern studies teacher and Mid-Fife and Glenrothes MSP’s was promoted to the Cabinet to take on the education brief by Mr Yousaf last year and saw her move from one of the hardest jobs in government to one of the toughest.
Previously as transport minister, Ms Gilruth, pictured below, came in for constant criticism over ferries and the un-dualled A90.

Education and closing the attainment gap was Nicola Sturgeon’s defining mission and is still a major priority for John Swinney who served in the role from 2016 to 2021 when he also acted a DFM.
She faces challenges though on violence in schools and over the academic performance of pupils.
Last year a major international survey found Scotland's high schools has slipped. The Pisa report, which measures education standards among nearly 700,000 15-year-olds worldwide, found a long-term decline in Scotland's performance in reading, maths and science. She will also be under pressure on cuts to teacher numbers with Scotland's largest local authority Glasgow city council pushing ahead to cut 450 teaching posts in tthe next three years.

Angela Constance, 53: Justice and Home Affairs
Ms Constance retains the justice role she was given by Mr Yousaf. She’s been an MSP since 2007 and has probably been in and out of government more than anyone else in Holyrood.
She first entered Cabinet in 2014, as the minister for training, youth and women’s employment, before being promoted to the education brief in Nicola Sturgeon’s first cabinet.
However, eighteen months later she was demoted before being punted to the backbenches in 2018. Ms Sturgeon brought her back into government in 2020 as minister for drugs policy. 
One of her major challenges will be getting her reforms on how victims are treated in the justice system through Holyrood.
New DFM Ms Forbes was one of several SNP backbenchers who abstained on the Victims and Witnesses Bill when it was voted on at stage one earlier this month. The misogyny bill promised by the Government, and its plans for conversion therapy legislation, will also prove controversial. Meanwhile, cuts to police budgets, and their potential impact on crime rates, are also issues she will have to address.

Màiri McAllan, 31: Net Zero and Energy
At just 31, Màiri McAllan is Scotland’s second youngest Cabinet Secretary.  (Kate Forbes was 29 when she took over the finance brief.) She was appointed to her current role by Mr Yousaf last year but her role has been slightly slimmed down with the economy part handed to Ms Forbes.

She had been the net zero, wellbeing economy and energy secretary, but now has responsibility for net zero and energy. Ms McAllan was first elected in 2021, and was promoted quickly, becoming Minister for Environment, Biodiversity and Land Reform 13 days later.
Before entering Holyrood she worked for Nicola Sturgeon as a special advisor and as a lawyer, specialising in energy and natural resources. In an interview last week she said she had ruled herself out from standing as SNP leader this year as she was expecting her first baby in eight weeks.

Despite its net zero commitments, is there room for the Scottish Government to improve its relations with the oil and gas industry as some in the SNP would like to see? Ms McAllan recently announced the Government was watering down its climate change targets, drawing significant criticism from environmental organisations and a backlash among Green party members towards the party's MSPs.

Shirley Anne-Somerville, 49: Secretary for Social Justice
The former education secretary took on Shona Robison’s former brief last year which included the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. She was first elected to Holyrood in 2007, though lost her seat in 2011, but came back as Dunfermline MSP in 2016. As director of communities in the Yes campaign for independence in 2014, she had a key role in the independence referendum.

Reducing child poverty will be Ms Somerville’s priority with the ambition a key focus for Mr Swinney' s new government.

Mairi Gougeon, 39: Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands
The Angus North and Mearns MSP keeps the Rural Affairs brief she’s held since 2021.
The 39-year-old is widely liked and seen as competent. The government’s forthcoming land reform bill may prove difficult for ministers. It promises to improve transparency of land ownership, help ensure large land holdings deliver in the public interest, and empower communities by providing more opportunities to own land and have more say in how land in their area is used. It will be opposed by land and estate owners.

Angus Robertson, 54: Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
Though only elected to Holyrood in 2021, the Edinburgh Central MSP spent 16 years in Westminster, leading the SNP group between 2007 and 2017.
The 54-year-old probably had the quickest promotion of any MSP in the history of devolution, becoming a Cabinet Secretary weeks after taking his seat.
He keeps the fairly hefty portfolio, which takes in independence, Brexit and the culture brief.

There are huge questions over the global standing of Scotland’s cultural sector, with recent spending cuts to key institutions. Last month, the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe described the level of support for the Fringe as a “national embarrassment”. Spending on government independence papers at the public expense, and the cabinet secretary’s frequent trips abroad, have been criticised by opposition parties.

Fiona Hyslop, 59: Transport secretary
First elected to Holyrood in 1999, she became transport secretary in February this year.
The 59-year-old has held a string of roles in government including as education secretary. Key questions for Ms Hyslop include: will off-peak fares remain on Scotland’s nationalised railways, when will the two much-delayed and over-budget Ferguson ferries come into service, and will it be easier to spend money on road infrastructure now that the Greens are no longer in government?