John Swinney
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SNP Cabinet Secretary says Jackdaw gas field approval was 'the right decision'
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville has called Jackdaw's approval the right decision — while warning Scotland receives no financial benefit from production in its own waters.
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Mackay admits she 'struggled to find the words' on Israel's right to exist question
Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay has attempted to clarify her view on Israel's right to exist, saying states have no such right but people do.
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Marra hands finance brief to leadership rival Fagan in first shadow cabinet
Michael Marra has named his first shadow cabinet as Scottish Labour leader, handing rival Joe Fagan the finance brief and claiming official opposition status at Holyrood after Amanda Bland's departure from Malcolm Offord's group.
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Inside the Greens' conference as party plots new path to power amid financial woes
The mood among the three hundred or so Scottish Greens members gathered in Eden Court Theatre in Inverness was upbeat after months seeing a record 15 MSPs elected in May.
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Senior doctor warns SNP's NHS shake-up risks 'small death' of local hospitals
A leading BMA doctor warns SNP plans to centralise surgery could threaten local hospitals, emergency care and intensive care services across Scotland.
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SNP says UK must rule out use of Scottish revenue for English nuclear energy
The SNP has demanded the UK Labour Government rule out the use of revenue from Scotland’s oil and gas industry on English nuclear energy.
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Scottish Greens urge John Swinney to say where he stands on energy policy
John Swinney must take a position on new oil and gas drilling, Gillian Mackay has said, as she hit out at the UK Government for approving the Jackdaw gas field.
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Singers and musicians urge Scottish Government to rethink trad music company plans
The Scottish Government’s plans to give traditional music the 'same platform' as opera, ballet and classical music have sparked concerns.
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'Nonsense': Fresh blow for Scottish Government over public service shake-up
The Scottish Government's public sector reform plans have faced more bruising criticism.
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Latest Ferguson Marine news, interviews and updates on the shipyard
All the latest news, interviews and updates about Ferguson Marine.
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Melinda French Gates and John Swinney pay tribute at Sir Ian Wood service
Melinda French Gates and John Swinney were among those who paid tribute to the life of businessman Sir Ian Wood at a memorial service in Aberdeen on Friday.
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Reset the Rates: The Herald's campaign for fairer business rates - all stories here
The Herald’s Reset the Rates campaign investigates Scotland’s business rates crisis and calls for six major reforms to protect businesses, jobs and high streets. Read all of our coverage here.
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First Minister urged to act over ethics watchdog’s freedom of speech file purge
Argyll and Bute councillor Alastair Redman has urged John Swinney to intervene after the Standards Commission destroyed his case files, raising concerns about freedom of speech and transparency.
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Edinburgh councillors to debate Greens’ controversial ‘Zionism is racism’ motion
Conservative councillor Marie-Clair Munro has hit out at the “divisive language and implications” of the GPEW motion, approved by the party earlier this month.
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SNP opens door to voluntary NHS staff exits in major health board shake-up
NHS staff could be offered voluntary exits or redeployed under SNP plans to cut Scotland's health boards from 14 to two, new guidance reveals.
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If the SNP can't be convinced on public sector reform, we've got a problem
Ivan McKee faced backlash from within his own party, making the Scottish Government's public sector reform plans even tougher.
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Reset the Rates: The Herald's campaign for fairer business rates - all stories here
The Herald’s Reset the Rates campaign investigates Scotland’s business rates crisis and calls for six major reforms to protect businesses, jobs and high streets. Read all of our coverage here.
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Swinney told to properly end ‘failed’ bus privatisation as council costs soar to £65m
Bus campaigners have branded Scotland’s bus system a “failed experiment” and demanded public ownership as council spending on buses and tendered services rose by £9.5million since before the pandemic.
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Edinburgh's unionist councillors back referendum — on boundary changes to capital
Under proposals for public sector reform mooted by the government in September, Scotland’s current 32-council system could be replaced.
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Ring-fence energy fund for north-east of Scotland, says Swinney
The call comes after the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen was approved by the UK Government.
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Here's what passengers think of John Swinney's plans for the bus network
Bus users in Glasgow have shared their opinions on the Scottish Government's latest public transport plans, as buses could return to public control
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Burnham defends Jackdaw decision as Badenoch urges PM to overturn ban on new oil and gas licences
The UK government says the field, which is opposed by environmental campaigners, could be producing gas by the end of this month.
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Ring-fence energy fund for north-east of Scotland, says Swinney
The call comes after the Jackdaw gas field near Aberdeen was approved by the UK Government.
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Miatta Fahnbulleh: 'I don't have the luxury of sitting on the fence' on North Sea gas
Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh approved the Jackdaw gas field in Aberdeen on Wednesday, arguing homegrown gas beats carbon-heavy imports. She told The Herald there will be no delay on the larger Rosebank decision but admitted jobs are not being created fast enough.
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Glasgow launches new night bus scheme to boost hospitality industry
A new bus scheme in Glasgow city centre aims to help the city's night life
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Jackdaw was the easy part – now comes the real North Sea headache
Jackdaw's approval raises fresh questions over Rosebank as Andy Burnham faces pressure and John Swinney avoids explicitly backing the North Sea decision.
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Reset the Rates: The Herald's campaign for fairer business rates - all stories here
The Herald’s Reset the Rates campaign investigates Scotland’s business rates crisis and calls for six major reforms to protect businesses, jobs and high streets. Read all of our coverage here.
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Jackdaw announcement must provide certainty to north east, says Swinney
The decision to approve Jackdaw was made on Wednesday.
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SNP minister's letter raises questions over Scotland's huge data centre plans
Patrick Harvie challenges the Scottish Government over a minister's letter that appeared to contradict its pledge on national data centre planning guidance.
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UK Covid inquiry finds care homes were treated as afterthought
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry has found Scotland acted earlier than the rest of the UK to isolate hospital discharges into care homes, but still entered the pandemic unprepared, with 4,272 residents dying and 82 of discharges untested.
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Reset the Rates: The Herald's campaign for fairer business rates - all stories here
The Herald’s Reset the Rates campaign investigates Scotland’s business rates crisis and calls for six major reforms to protect businesses, jobs and high streets. Read all of our coverage here.
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Malcolm Offord: Losing MSP will not ‘derail’ Reform UK Scotland’s plans
The defection upsets the math at Holyrood - with Labour now second biggest party
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'Falls on us as a nation to restore building to its glory': MP's Mack cash plea
Labour MP Torcuil Crichton has called for a state-backed, Notre-Dame-style rescue of the fire-ravaged Mackintosh Building, but the UK Government says it cannot promise new money for the £265m restoration.
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Herald Business LIVE: Today's top stories - October 20
Welcome to The Herald's Business live blog, where we’ll be bringing you the latest developments from across Scotland’s business industry.
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We’re not backing away from Jackdaw and Rosebank decisions, says Andy Burnham
The PM was speaking during a visit to Motherwell.
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I watched BBC Scotland for a night and all I got was a sense of doom
Seven years after the BBC Scotland channel launched with big ambitions, its audience is shrinking and its future is in doubt. I spent an evening watching it to find out what has gone wrong.
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Government being ‘cautious’ about public announcements on Jackdaw and Rosebank
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander also dismissed John Swinney’s claim GB Energy has so far done ‘absolutely nothing’.
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Reset The Rates: The six asks of The Herald's campaign explained
The Herald is calling for major change to the business rates regime in Scotland - here's the detail
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A 600 rates shock for one Scottish business - and six reforms to fix broken system
Business leaders across Scotland have joined The Herald's Reset the Rates campaign, backing six reforms to create a fairer, simpler and more predictable business rates system
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John Swinney hails ‘golden opportunity’ for Scottish businesses in India
John Swinney hails India as a “golden opportunity” for Scottish food and drink as his trade mission promotes salmon exports, tourism and investment.
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SNP delegates back domestic energy production as ministers urged to finalise strategy
SNP conference backs domestic energy production as Stephen Gethins urges the Scottish Government to finalise its oil and gas strategy amid North Sea debate.
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Inverness MSP calls for standalone city council amid Scottish local government reform
Emma Roddick urges Scottish Government to create a standalone Inverness City Council as local government reform sparks debate over Highland Council’s future.
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'Scandal' - Homeless deaths in Scotland soar 38 in a year as housing crisis deepens
The number of homeless people dying in Scotland has soared by 38 in just one year with 232 deaths recorded in 2025 as the country’s housing emergency claims an ever more devastating toll.
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UK's first subsea HVDC cable plant opens at Port of Nigg with £350m investment
Sumitomo Electric has opened the UK's first subsea high-voltage cable factory at Port of Nigg, with up to 250 direct jobs expected.
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Reform MSP Amanda Bland resigns to sit as independent
Amanda Bland's decision relegates the party to the third-largest group at Holyrood, with one member fewer than Labour.
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Tens of thousands of Scots waiting more than a year for NHS treatment
More than 30,000 Scottish NHS waits still exceed a year, six months after John Swinney’s March 2026 target was missed, with ministers giving no new date.
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John Swinney compared to dictator as bus plans branded ‘business confiscation’
John Swinney has been compared to dictators as McGill's Group threatens legal action over plans to bring buses in Scotland under public control.
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Listen John, taking Andy Burnham's olive branch may actually grant you indyref2
A Labour government in Westminster should always have been a problem for the SNP, especially a deflated, too-long-in-government SNP which had failed to deliver on many of the left-wing policies it had promised. But Keir Starmer was so deeply unpopular north of the border he failed to lay a blow
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I watched BBC Scotland for a night and all I got was a sense of doom
Seven years after the BBC Scotland channel launched with big ambitions, its audience is shrinking and its future is in doubt. I spent an evening watching it to find out what has gone wrong.
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Emotional John Swinney says he'll deliver Scottish independence for teenage son
The SNP leader has closed his party’s annual conference in Aberdeen on a personal note
