Paul Hutcheon
Mackay stands in contrast to his early SNP activism
SOME members of the Scottish Government have a low profile and rarely attract the headlines, but Derek Mackay is the opposite.
Last month, the SNP’s busiest Cabinet Secretary flew to Paris for urgent talks with tyre manufacturer Michelin after he learned the firm’s Dundee plant would close.
At the same time, he was scheduling meetings with colleagues about his third Budget. In charge of Finance, the Economy and Fair Work, the 41-year-old is the most powerful figure in the Government after the First Minister.
His expanded portfolio – the Economy part was added in the summer at his suggestion – means he has responsibility for growth, jobs and allocating how a £30 billion-plus budget is spent. It is a multi-faceted role that requires pragmatism, diplomacy and a thick skin.
This version of Mackay – moderate and inclusive – stands in contrast to his early SNP activism two decades earlier. In 1999, the 21-year-old was a newly-elected Renfrewshire councillor who was a hardliner on independence and a devolution sceptic.
Back then, the split in the SNP was between “gradualists” who believed Holyrood could be a stepping stone to independence, and “fundamentalists” who wanted the party to focus solely on promoting independence. Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon were in the first (and much bigger) section of the party. Former deputy leader Jim Sillars and newly-elected MSP Alex Neil were arch-fundies. So was Mackay.
The first Scottish Parliament election in 1999 opened the Nationalist wound. Although the SNP had returned 35 MSPs, they had thrown away a poll lead and the fundies blamed Salmond. The SNP had ranked independence as 10th in a list of priorities, which the leader’s critics believed was symbolic of his cautious approach.
An early post-devolution policy change deepened the divisions. The SNP’s longstanding position was that winning an election would serve as a mandate to open negotiations with the UK Government on independence. Under Salmond’s leadership, this policy was junked and replaced with a promise that independence would be preceded by a referendum. The fundies sensed another betrayal.
Mackay’s position as convener of Young Scots for Independence (YSI) – an outpost of fundamentalism – gave him a foothold in an independence debate that had simmered for years. In 1998, a year before Mackay became a councillor, he was the “co-ordinator” of The Vision, a magazine produced by the YSI and the Federation of Student Nationalists.
The National Library of Scotland retains a single copy of the first edition. Although unlikely to win a Pulitzer Prize, the magazine’s content provides a glimpse into Mackay’s formative years. His sole article, Independence – Tried By Night, offered an analysis of a TV debate involving Salmond. While he complimented his leader’s “style” and “charisma”, Mackay noted sarcastically it was good to see Salmond talk about independence “with some fire in his belly!”.
Mackay’s stance on independence reflected the views of Jim Mitchell, a local SNP stalwart who was a huge influence on the young councillor’s political development. “Jimmy”, as he was known, was a left-winger who had been a Paisley councillor since the 1970s. He was also a hardcore fundie who tended to respond to a political row by asking if it had any relevance to independence.
As a member of the SNP’s national executive committee, Mitchell warned colleagues against becoming “preoccupied and mesmerised” by policy detail. He, like Mackay, also indulged in unsubtle digs at Salmond. “Shouldn’t we at least consider sit-ins, demonstrations, high-profile campaigning that will make it clear we are made of more than fancy soundbites?” he said.
One of Mackay’s friends said Mitchell was a “fire and brimstone” Nationalist, but also a political “father figure” to the future MSP.
In 2000, the tension between the gradualists and the fundies found the perfect forum when Salmond stood down and a leadership contest was triggered. John Swinney, at that point a Salmond ally, backed the referendum policy of his predecessor, while Neil wanted it scrapped. It was game on.
Mackay and Mitchell were solidly behind Neil and appeared to co-ordinate snarky letters to The Herald about apparent briefings by Swinney’s supporters. “I for one am concerned by the language used by the so-called “friends of John Swinney” who see their aims as delivering a “crushing defeat” on those who differ from his views,” Mackay bellowed. “I believe our party is at least united by our aim of independence, but feel a growing concern, like many other party members, that these anonymous spinners and ‘sources close to the leadership’ will use any tactic to win, even when it is damaging to the party as a whole.”
The future Finance Secretary continued: “The aim of the SNP is to restore power to Scotland rather than winning for the sake of electoral victory and ministerial rewards. The price of the LibDems may be a ministerial Mondeo but our fee is national freedom and nothing less.
“So the talk of who has the ability to be First