Swinney’s fingerprints are all over past failures

The pledge to increase teacher numbers by 3,500 looks set to go the same way as a string of other broken commitments

During his debut appearance at First Minister’s Questions as the holder of that post, rather than a stand-in, John Swinney was repeatedly challenged over his pledge – made three years ago as Education Secretary – to increase teacher numbers by 3,500 by 2026. The reality is that, instead of rising, numbers have actually fallen slightly over the past two years.

Swinney said the promise had been given “in good faith” but that Scottish Government was “under enormous financial pressure” and he had to be “straight about the challenges we face”. So while he didn’t actually scrap the target, it doesn’t sound like Scotland’s classrooms will be getting significant reinforcements any time soon.

For many governments, this might sound reasonable: circumstances have changed, so planned improvements may not happen. The problem is that the SNP has a long track record of setting targets and making plans, then failing to see them through: the 2030 emissions-reduction target; the dualling of the A9; the closing of the educational attainment gap; the ‘launch’ of a ferry seven years ago that’s still not ready; a deposit return recycling scheme that businesses spent small fortunes preparing for but which never happened… the list goes on.

In a speech in Glasgow today, Stuart Hunter, of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, will claim that teachers are being "emotionally blackmailed” into working excessively long hours for the sake of their pupils “to the point we damage our own mental health”. Such are the potential costs of bad leadership.

As he pointed out yesterday, Swinney is only just in the job and times are difficult. But one reason why is the incompetence of the SNP government, with a little help from their former friends in the Greens. And his fingerprints are all over the failures of the past 17 years. Swinney’s new pledge to live in the “real world” is a welcome departure, but will this one be kept? Scotland will not stand for more empty promises. What it does need is a credible plan to change education, the NHS, the economy and so on for the better. And quickly.