SNP's fifth term: continuity at Holyrood, but will education finally change? |
The SNP’s return to power signals continuity, but questions remain over education reform. Peter MacMahon asks will John Swinney revive plans to empower headteachers and close Scotland’s attainment gap?
It was, the opposition maintained, a ‘change election’. What had gone before would be no more. The end of the nationalists’ crumbling ancien régime was at hand. A new dawn would break.
Except that’s not what happened. The Scottish National Party under John Swinney has been returned to government for a remarkable fifth time, taking them into their third decade in power. Meet the new boss, exactly the same as the old boss.
The question is what will this governmental continuity mean for education which, regrettably, did not feature heavily in the more heat than light debates ahead of the Holyrood vote.
Yesterday's Cabinet announcement saw Jenny Gilruth appointed Deputy First Minister with Mairi McAllan replacing her in a wider role that takes in education, culture and Gaelic, but it's too early to know what difference that will make, if any.
What we do know is Mr Swinney takes a personal interest as a former holder of that post, not to mention as the father of a son who was taking exams while he was away campaigning, so it is reasonable to assume there will not be radical change, whoever is in the post.
It’s not possible to say precisely what the ‘new’ SNP government will do and what precise legislative plans it might have in the area of education - plans which would need support or acquiescence of other parties to pass.
What will Swinney's new administration do for education? (Image: Euan Cherry/PA Wire)
The best we have is what the party promised in its election manifesto. Of course, there is a great deal of cynicism about such documents, often deserved. The glister of pre-election pledges........