John Swinney deserves credit for new plans, but a cynical nation won't forgive him if he lets us down again

Perhaps we are getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s almost as if John Swinney sought advice from The Scotsman’s editorials while preparing his speech outlining the new Programme for Government.

We have long called for economic growth to be the government’s number one priority and the First Minister has now pledged to “make Scotland the best place to do business”. That’s quite an ambition and we intend to hold him to this promise, to ensure he is serious about it, and we expect concrete signs of genuine progress soon.

We have also argued that the excessive number of government quangos must be reduced and, in his speech to the Scottish Parliament, the First Minister announced plans to slash the number of regional health boards from 14 to two, merge Scotland’s environmental quangos, and make Transport Scotland a part of the government, rather than an arms-length body.

This latter move is a particularly welcome step towards greater democratic control and accountability that we hope will be replicated elsewhere. Swinney’s ‘bonfire of the quangos’ is on the small side, but at least it’s a start. We hope there will be more to come. Given high tax rates and crumbling public services, government simply must become more efficient.

READ MORE: Why Scotland's quango culture is undemocratic and has got to go

John Swinney delivers his statement to parliament on the new Programme for Government (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell) | Getty Images

SNP’s poor track record on NHS

There were other signs that the SNP is facing up to Scotland’s problems, with Swinney talking about concerns over youth violence and knife crime and the problem of delayed discharge of hospital patients who are well enough to leave but unable to do so because of a lack of social care.

However, this latter issue is a case in point. The SNP have been talking about delayed discharge – also known, uncharitably, as ‘bed blocking’ – for years and the problem is as bad as ever. Indeed, shortly before Swinney began speaking, Public Health Scotland issued figures showing the worst delayed discharge figures for the month of July on record.

And Swinney’s pledge that no one should wait more than 26 weeks for NHS treatment by 2031 must be set within the context of the failure of his attempt to eradicate waits of more than a year by March this year and, going further back, the legal guarantee created by the SNP government in 2011 that no one should wait more than 12 weeks.

After a reasonably promising start, the SNP has essentially presided over 20 years of managed decline as demonstrated by the spiralling benefits bill which, as we have pointed out previously, is a sign of failure and not, in any way, a source of pride as some SNP ministers appear to think.

Starmer’s fate a warning

As Keir Starmer, who has announced he is standing down as an MP, found to his cost, government is difficult. No one says it’s not. His replacement, Andy Burnham, has been talking a good game in the eyes of many, but he too will soon be asked to deliver tangible results that people can feel in their everyday lives. If he falters, the Prime Minister could start to see his authority and his popularity ebb away.

Swinney and co have been failing that test for far too long, which is why his government was re-elected with the support of just one in five of the electorate. It is also a significant reason behind the shocking lack of public engagement with the democratic process as demonstrated by low election turnouts.

Scotland has become a nation weary of broken promises, of grandiose targets that are routinely missed, of soundbites and spin instead of substance, of excuses and blame-shifting. It’s time for Swinney to deliver. He might not be forgiven if he fails yet again.