ANALYSIS

As far as humiliating U-turns go, there can’t have been many more spectacular than John Swinney’s volte-face on the exams fiasco that has plagued pupils since last week.

The education secretary struck a tone of contrition as he apologised and announced the withdrawal of all downgraded results.

But after a stormy Holyrood session that involved more calls for Mr Swinney’s resignation, two key questions remained.

Firstly and most importantly – had Mr Swinney done enough to satisfy the furious pupils, whose hopes for the future had been dashed in cruel fashion by the SQA’S moderation of the grades teachers had allocated?

Secondly, was Mr Swinney’s U-turn enough to save his political skin?

As far as the second question is concerned, already it appears the scale of Mr Swinney’s climbdown has been enough to persuade the Greens to vote for him tomorrow when MSPS consider a vote of no confidence – enough to prop up Mr Swinney.

As for the first question, clearly Mr Swinney’s reinstatement of teachers’ estimates will cheer pupils who justifiably felt they had been harshly treated by the SQA “algorithm”.

There will, however, be wider ramifications. As a result of the U-turn, this year’s pass rate will soar.

This came with a pledge that young people will not be “crowded out” of university places, a promise that will have significant financial implications. There is also the question of next year. How can the system remain fair?

But from a political point of view, Mr Swinney had no option other than to perform his about-turn. Not only was his own career at risk, there was also May’s election to consider.

This episode has done nothing but harm to the Scottish Government’s reputation and raises more questions about its handling of domestic issues that matter so much to voters.