John Swinney: From ousted leader to the cusp of the top job

Several senior members of the SNP have put his name out there, urging him to return to frontline politics and steady the ship unsettled by Mr Yousaf’s imminent departure.

It would not be the first foray into the leadership for the former Tayside North MP, should he make the decision to go for it.

In September 2000, he took over as leader following the departure of Alex Salmond – the first time – having served as his deputy for two years previously.

His tenure would not be a happy one.

The party’s fortunes would sink, returning just five MPs at the 2001 Westminster election and 22 MSPs in the 2003 Holyrood vote.

After seeing off an attempt to oust him by a party activist, Mr Swinney stepped down voluntarily after a poor showing at the 2004 European elections.

But that was not the end of his political story and he was brought back by Mr Salmond to serve as finance secretary when the SNP took power in 2007.

He served in the role for the entirety of Mr Salmond’s tenure, before being appointed deputy first minister by Nicola Sturgeon when she took over.

Over the following nine years, the Perthshire North MSP occupied several ministerial offices, including education secretary, Covid-19 recovery secretary and again in finance – taking over from Kate Forbes during her maternity leave.

During his time as Nicola Sturgeon’s deputy, he cemented his reputation as a dogged defender of his boss, as well as an SNP stalwart.

But it was not without its challenges, as he faced two close no confidence votes in Holyrood, first over the handling of school exams during the pandemic, and his initial refusal to publish legal advice during the inquiry into the botched handling of harassment complaints against Mr Salmond.

The election of Humza Yousaf as First Minister saw Mr Swinney call time on his career in Cabinet, but the urging of colleagues may be enough to see him seek the top job.