John Swinney told an audience in Dundee on Thursday how he turned down a job offer from Humza Yousaf one month before he resigned due to his wife’s MS.
At an interview and Q&A for subscribers of The Courier in Dundee, Mr Swinney said that a worsening in his wife’s condition had forced him to decline the SNP role from his predecessor.
Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2000, he said his wife, Elizabeth Quigley, was enduring severe pain as a result of her condition.
A month later, when Mr Yousaf resigned after just over a year in the role, Mr Swinney said considering his family circumstances was deeply important in his decision to put his name forward as the next SNP leader.
“Elizabeth had got stronger, but it still required a lot of thought.
“As I explained in my acceptance speech as first minister, Elizabeth is indefatigable in her resistance of her MS, but she also, to her frustration, relies on her husband for support and assistance.
“I thought, I can’t just swan off and be first minister. But when I got home, Elizabeth just said to me I had to do it.”
The Courier editor David Clegg asked the first minister about his year away from ministerial office, which Mr Swinney said allowed him to spend more time in his constituency.
“My constituents saw a lot more of me sitting on park benches,” he said.
Does Perth want independence more than in 2014?
But Mr Clegg asked if he’d heard from them about whether they were any more enthused by Scottish independence.
Perthshire, the area he represents in the Scottish Parliament, voted No resoundingly in 2014.
Mr Swinney said that while not all of his constituents were receptive to independence, democracy made it possible for the conversation to continue.
As well as the interview with Mr Clegg, Mr Swinney also took questions from the near 200 strong audience.
These included concerns about education, pensions, housebuilding and independence.
One subscriber, Jacqui Lawrie, raised concerns about staff shortages in the NHS and told how she worked in a Fife dialysis unit where patients were having their patient transport withdrawn.
A concerned Mr Swinney said he would be happy to look into the specifics, but spoke candidly about the challenges facing the NHS.
“I accept the NHS is under real pressure. It’s a consequence, essentially of three things,” he said.
Issues facing NHS Scotland
Mr Swinney explained this was an increased demand for healthcare, the impact of Covid-19 and the effect of financial pressures.
He added: “We have staffing levels that are much higher than when the SNP came to office. But the problem is filling them, because we are short of people in our working age population.
“Some of that is a consequence of Brexit, because we’ve lost people providing health and also social care.
“If you lose your social care workforce, that leads to delayed discharge which means hospital get more congested.”
Previous guests at Courier subscriber events have including Hollywood star Brian Cox and Deacon Blue singer Ricky Ross.
Mr Clegg said: “It was fantastic to see so many of our readers put their questions directly to the First Minister, and i’d like to thank John Swinney for taking part.
“Throughout the General Election and beyond, The Courier will scrutinise politicians on behalf of the communities we serve, journalism that is only possible because of our subscribers.”
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