Exclusive:Housing Minister Mairi McAllan 'not even considering' future SNP leadership bid
Mairi McAllan told The Scotsman she is ‘front of that queue in the John Swinney fan club’
Cabinet minister Mairi McAllan has said a future SNP leadership bid is “not something I’m even considering”.
The Housing Secretary told The Scotsman she is “front of that queue in the John Swinney fan club”.
Ms McAllan - a former special adviser to Nicola Sturgeon - has been tipped as a potential successor to the First Minister.
When asked if she had leadership ambitions, Ms McAllan said: “So I think I would respond to that today by saying that it's just completely not where the SNP is. So it's not something that I'm even considering.
“I know that UK Labour have got their troubles to seek just now, and there's all these kind of things. But we as a party are solidly behind John Swinney and I am pretty much front of that queue in the John Swinney fan club.
“So no, I do not.”
The two most senior women in the Scottish Government - Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Finance Secretary Shona Robison - are leaving Holyrood next year.
If the SNP wins the election, this would mean there is a vacancy as Mr Swinney’s second-in command.
When asked if she believed the next deputy first minister should be a woman, Ms McAllan said: “Yes, I do.”
Ms McAllan had her first child in the summer of 2024 before returning to government in June. Many senior politicians have left Scottish politics in recent years because of the impact it is having on their family lives.
This includes Ms Forbes and former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson.
When asked if the Scottish Parliament was family friendly enough, Ms McAllan said: “I think being an MSP is already quite an unsociable job. If you add into that being in government and then being in Cabinet, it's not a nine-to-five by any means, and that's just part and parcel of it.
“I think that the government and the Parliament have been flexible with me. I have certainly felt supported.
“Something very unfortunate like Covid actually created the opportunity to vote remotely from time to time, so some things have improved. But is it family friendly? No, not entirely.”
Some Holyrood politicians, including Ms McAllan’s Cabinet colleagues Angus Robertson and Ms Forbes, have criticised the Scottish Parliament’s creche facilities, which are only open three hours a day from Tuesday to Thursday.
Clydesdale MSP Ms McAllan said: “I suspect that probably has more of a bearing for people who live near Edinburgh. But the prospect for me of having to come to work and bring my son is probably the most stressful thing I could ever imagine.
“There should be provision for childcare in the Parliament for MSPs and for the folk that work in the employment of the Scottish Parliament as well. I think that there definitely should be improvements there.”
When asked if this was putting people with families off entering politics, Ms McAllan said: “I think there's a lot of things that put women and folk with families off entering politics.
“It's vicious and it really ought not to be. So I worry about that. I worry about the tenor of debates and the eco-system around politics, and the sense that it will put good people off wanting to have that in their life.
“So I guess all I can do is try and make it better whilst I'm here and encourage other women to come forward.”
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