After serving for nine years as Scottish Finance Minister and deputy to both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, Swinney’s move to the education brief was a sign that the SNP wishes to make it a top priority for the coming Parliamentary session. A long-time SNP activist and former leader, Swinney is widely regarded in Hollyrood as a safe pair of hands with few enemies, and is Sturgeon’s closest confidant at the top of the Scottish government.
The SNP’s continuation of the free-tuition policy is a vital mirror for debates on HE funding across the UK, both for its supporters and opponents. Swinney’s influential place in the UK HE sector recognises the hegemonic position of the SNP in Scotland and the leverage and influence which the Scottish government seeks to wield in Brexit negotiations; a second independence referendum continues to loom. The new Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Bill received significant criticism from universities wary of government interference, but they were unable to halt it: a further indication of Swinney’s and the SNP’s dominance over politics in Scotland today.