Devolution and Scotland after the pandemic: John Swinney MSP

As part of our ongoing series of events on devolution and the Union, the Institute for Government was delighted to welcome John Swinney MSP, the Deputy First Minister of Scotland. What is the state of the relationship between the UK and Scottish governments? How well is devolution working for Scotland? What are the current tensions in the devolved settlement and how can they be resolved? John Swinney, who is also Scotland’s cabinet minister for Covid recovery, gave a short speech before being in conversation with Akash Paun, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government, and programme lead for devolution. John Swinney has been an MSP since 1999, and currently represents Perthshire North. From 1998 to 2000, he served as deputy leader of the SNP, and then as party leader between 2000 and 2004. He has previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Constitution and Economy, and as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills. He has been Deputy First Minister since 2014. #IfGDevo