Leader declares SNP 'healed' a year into the job

JOHN Swinney has said he has “healed” the SNP, after inheriting a “fractured” party from his predecessor Humza Yousaf.

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The First Minister said when he took over the top job in Scottish politics just over a year ago, he had to deal with both a “fractured party” and a “fractured Parliament”.

He took office in May last year at a tumultuous time for the SNP - with Mr Yousaf having resigned as first minister and SNP leader in the wake of his decision to scrap the party's powersharing agreement with the Scottish Greens at Holyrood.

That left the SNP without a majority in the Parliament, and the party also suffered a heavy defeat in the July 2024 general election - dropping to just nine seats from 39.