The programme for this year’s Hidden Door is now live, as we reveal the first details of an ambitious series of original, immersive performances specially designed for our unique venue, plus live music from Porridge Radio, Hot 8 Brass Band, Max Cooper, NiNE8 and Pillow Queens.
We’re transforming the former Scottish Widows office complex on Dalkeith Road for a five-day spectacular more immersive and atmospheric than any Hidden Door so far.
The Complex will host a diverse live music and spoken word programme alongside a collection of visual art from Scotland’s best emerging artists. Hidden Door 2023 runs from Wednesday 31 May to Sunday 4 June.
ENVIRONMENTS
Responding to the vast interior spaces, Hidden Door presents a series of Environments for the audience to explore as they venture deeper into the former office building. Featuring live music, dance, film projections, set design and even opera, each Environment brings together some of the most visionary emerging artists to talk about our natural world in a unique and imaginative way.The Environments will create an immersive journey – responding to the world around us and the impact we’ve had on it – and inviting the audiences to explore The Complex, with several surprises along the way.
An eclectic mix of bands will be filling three performance spaces this year, offering almost every genre of music you can imagine.Indie rock band Porridge Radio, Grammy-winning Hot 8 Brass Band, electronica and techno producer Max Cooper, radical pop collective NiNE8, and Irish rock band Pillow Queens will take to the Cabaret Stage.Also performing in the former canteen will be post-punk outfit Pozi, doom jazz trio AKU!, jazz collective Corto.alto, alt-pop singer Berta Kennedy, Edinburgh band Dinosaur 94, and post-punk electronica Sweaty Palms.The Cabaret Stage will culminate each night with a party featuring the likes of brass band Blue Giant Orkestar, sax and drums duo O., and utopian synth duo Free Love.Down in the Loading Bay stage, indie band DEADLETTER, rap artist Bemz and alt musician Rozi Plain will entertain audiences. Over the five days, they’ll be joined by indie band Wombo, American rock band Flasher, hip hop artist Billy Got Waves, rapper and singer Jelani Blackman and outsider pop outfit The Microband.In the Club Space, music label Paradise Palms, Afro-Latin club night Samedia Shebeen and women and non-binary DJ collectives Sisu and EPiKA will each host residencies showcasing their roster of talent and keeping the tunes coming until closing time.
On display inside The Complex will be visual art from a wide range of artists practising in Scotland, much of which will explore the same issues as the Environments.A series of interactive installation pieces from Becky Hunter, Chell Young, Elvey Stedman, Evie Rose Thornton, Kirsten Millar, Scott Hunter, and Soorin Shin will explore ideas of climate change and industry.Also on display will be photography from Emily Nicholl, abstract art from Iain H Williams, industrial art from James Sinfield, an installation from Jo Fleming Smith, object art from Joan Smith, textile art from Laura Lees, etchings from Madeline Mackay, found billboards from Martin Elden, ice-inspired hangings from Mary Walters, ink drawings from Natasha Russell, sculpture from Ross Andrew Spencer, paintings from Ryan Cairns, and sculpture from Tim Taylor.Work from recent art school graduates Aimee Finlay, Alice Sherlock, Amy Kim Grogan, Ben Caro and Kat Culter-MacKenzie, Ciaran Cannon, Coire Simpson, Dhira Chakraborty, Irene Aldazabal, Leah Wood, Sarah Phelan and Shae Myles will also be on display.
This year’s poetry and spoken word programme will showcase a diverse group of new and developing performers from across Scotland and beyond.On the first day of the festival, writer, poet and researcher Caitlin Stobie will share her writing, and Clare O’Brien will present her work inspired by the natural world and the creatures that wander through it. Queer writer and spoken word poet Gray Crosbie makes their return to Hidden Door, as does Sean Wai Keung presenting his reflections on identity and migration.Thursday 1 June sees poet and performance maker Bibi June present post-apocalyptic stories on climate change, while actor and poet Rupert Smith takes inspiration from Shakespeare into his work. Jay Whittaker will perform her irreverent, unsentimental poems looking at mortality, illness and loss.On Friday 2 June, Irish poet Éadaoín Lynch will perform from their debut poetry pamphlet, and Genevieve Carver will present her work in response to dolphins, porpoises and seals. British-Sudanese lyricist and performance poet Zaki El-Salahi will take to the stage to perform their work rooted in rap, dub poetry and the role of MC culture in grassroots black British consciousness. Sal will perform her work entangling trans and chronically ill experiences with organic processes of decay and birth.Saturday sees queer Latinx writer Andrés N Ordorica share his writing on the diasporic experience, and Ross McCleary performs his piece advocating for refilling of the Nor Loch. Edinburgh-based US poet Allie Kerper will also perform.The last day of Hidden Door will have performances from Scottish-Canadian poet Patrick James Errington, and Glasgow’s Oliver Robertson. Janette Ayachi will share her musings on searching landscapes and human connection, and Elspeth Wilson will celebrate joy from a marginalised perspective.
The Environment Secretary calls for countries to join together to halt and reverse the loss of nature and protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030
Countries around the globe must join together, raise ambition and act faster to protect and restore nature on both land and sea, Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey has said on World Wildlife Day (3 March).
Following the historic agreement reached at the UN Biodiversity summit last year, the Environment Secretary is attending the Our Ocean conference where she will work with other countries to make this the decade we halt and reverse the loss of nature and protect at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030. She will also acknowledge the effectiveness of established tools such as CITES convention that celebrates 50 years of protecting endangered species today.
Building on commitments outlined in the Government’s Environmental Improvement Plan launched last month and progress to protect nature on land, the UK is this week announcing vital funding to boost marine conservation efforts worldwide, fight climate change, and support vulnerable coastal communities.
The UK has renewed support through its ambitious £500 million Blue Planet Fund to protect and restore important marine habitats such as mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses that play a key role in the fight against climate change. This includes an additional £24 million to the Global Fund for Coral Reefs, and the UK becoming the first donor to the Blue Carbon Action Partnership, committing £4 million to support countries unlock and mobilise finance to protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems.
The Environment Secretary has also announced £45 million to the new ‘Blue Tech Superhighway’ project. From community-led fisheries management enabling local communities to set and monitor their own catches; new seawater farming systems working with species more resilient to warmer waters; through to pioneering approaches to reduce food waste, this investment will support small-scale fishers and aquaculture farmers improve their climate resilience, sustainability and incomes. The project will also encourage collaboration between countries across Asia and Africa to scale action.
This comes as the UK announced it will provide £1.5 million to the Asian Development Bank’s new Blue Pacific Finance Hub to support climate resilient, sustainable blue economies for Pacific Small Island Developing States including developing circular economies to reduce plastic waste and improved fisheries management.
The Environment Secretary, Thérèse Coffey said: “It is almost impossible to overstate the importance of stepping up our efforts to bolster the resilience of the marine environment and, in turn, the economies and communities that depend on it.
“At the UN nature summit in Montreal, we made a commitment to manage our whole ocean sustainably and set a target to protect at least 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030. The UK is leading, co-leading, and supporting global coalitions of ambition to drive forward this mission, and I urge countries to come together to deliver coordinated, impactful action on the ground.”
She also urged more countries to join forces to tackle the scourge of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, one of the most serious threats to the world’s ocean which equates to approximately 11-19% of reported global fisheries production and leads to losses of roughly $10-23.5 billion in value. IUU fishing undermines efforts to conserve fish stocks, damages marine ecosystems, impacts global food supply chains and threatens coastal communities whose livelihoods rely on sustainable fishing.
The UK, US and Canada launched the world’s first global alliance to tackle IUU fishing last year, with members sharing data and tools to monitor and crack down on this pervasive issue. This builds on progress under the UK-led Blue Belt Ocean Shield programme which uses innovative surveillance techniques to tackle illegal practices in over 4.3 million square kilometres of waters around the UK Overseas Territories.
Since its launch, the Alliance has grown to 16 members, with Norway, Iceland and Korea recently coming onboard. More members will sign up at the Our Ocean conference today, including the EU, Panama and New Zealand.
Thérèse Coffey said: “For too many communities, the threat of IUU fishing looms year after year, as they bear the brunt of the instability and violence that accompanies this serious, organised, transboundary crime.
“For marine species, the impact can be devastating and this has a catastrophic effect on the lives of the hundreds of millions of people who depend on fisheries for their livelihoods.
“So, we need to accelerate our efforts and scale up. That is a priority for us in the UK – something we are addressing by improving import controls, sharing more data on vessels, identifying those who profit from IUU fishing, and holding them to account.”
Matthew Knowles, a running enthusiast from Edinburgh University, saw off tough competition at the weekend to win the men’s U20 Scottish Athletics National Cross-Country Championships.
Knowles, 19 who also works part-time at the specialist running shop, Up & Running is no stranger to gruelling races, having previously represented England and GB at a number of under 20 mountain running events.
Matthew also helps to lead a free weekly social run group from Up & Running, aimed at encouraging local runners of all abilities.
Are you from an ethnic minority background and curious about a career in policing?Police Scotland is committed to increasing diversity within its workforce to better reflect the increasingly diverse communities we serve.
Join us at our upcoming online information event, which will give you a fantastic opportunity to gain insight on the recruitment process and the training at the Scottish Police College. Plus, there will be an opportunity to ask any questions you may have about working for Police Scotland.
The event will take place on Thursday 9 March, from 6.30pm – 8.30pm, via Microsoft Teams.
These events are for groups currently under-represented in Police Scotland. The consent, support and cooperation of our fellow citizens lies at the heart of the identity and legitimacy of policing in Scotland.
To ensure that bond is as strong as possible, we must fully represent and reflect the communities we serve. Inclusion is an operational necessity and morally the right thing to do.
We are committed to increasing the number of officers and staff from under-represented groups. There are well documented barriers to some people applying to join the police service.
We therefore run a number of different recruitment events to answer specific questions from people from diverse communities. This is to make sure everyone has fair access to the Police Scotland recruitment process.
Two pupils from a high school in Cumbernauld will address over 350 women in the debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament tomorrow (Saturday 4 March) as part of this year’s International Women’s Day event.
Zara De Almeida and Grace Lennon both in S5 at Our Lady’s High School, Cumbernauld, will address this year’s theme of breaking the bias, at the event which is held jointly with the Scottish Women’s Convention.
The First Minister the Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP will also address the Chamber, along with comedian Susan Morrison and academic Dr Radhika Govinda.
The Presiding Officer, the Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP, speaking ahead of the event said: “The Scottish Parliament has celebrated International Women’s Day with this event for over 15 years, inviting women from across Scotland to address collectively the challenges they face.”
Agnes Tolmie, Chair of the Scottish Women’s Convention said: “Women make up more than 50% of the Scottish population and we have still not achieved equality.
“However, when we look at the wonderful work done by women in Scotland we have every reason to celebrate. We are looking forward to an afternoon of inspiring and motivational contributions which showcase Scotland’s achievements in working for a fairer society.”
Women from across Scotland will join the event at the Parliament, including 60 high school pupils from S4 to S6 from Our Ladies High School, Cumbernauld; Drumchapel High School; Govan High School; St Ninian’s High School, Kirkintilloch; University of Edinburgh’s Women in Politics society; and members of the Digital Dairy Chain from the University of Strathclyde.
The event will be broadcast by the Scottish Parliament and will begin at 2.00pm on Saturday 4 March.
Entries open for 2023 VIBES Scottish Environment Business Awards
Environmental trailblazers from Scotland’s business community are being invited to showcase the link between environmental and economic success by entering the 25th annual VIBES awards this spring.
Open to businesses large and small across the country, the awards recognise those who champion sustainability by reducing pressure on the planet’s resources and winning schemes focused on everything from accelerating action towards net zero, embracing circularity and increasing biodiversity.
Officially launched by SEPA CEO Nicole Paterson at an event in the capital on Wednesday 1 March, the 2023 awards will feature three new categories: the Just Transition Scotland Award, the Vision in Business Scotland Award and the STV Green Fund Award, with a £30K campaign partnership with STV up for grabs.
Other categories include the Product Scotland Award, Service Scotland Award, Circular Scotland Award, Sustainable Transport Scotland Award and Nature Rich Scotland Award.
Nicole Paterson, SEPA CEO said: “Thriving, successful and sustainable Scottish businesses will be those that recognise the link between environmental and economic prosperity, and with record breaking entries to last year’s VIBES awards, it’s clear that Scottish businesses agree.
“The journey towards sustainability is a challenging but necessary one and I, like many others, have been encouraged and inspired by the commitment and action from VIBES winners over the years.
“We saw energy efficient businesses charge ahead at the 2022 awards and I’m sure this year’s entrants will once again demonstrate effective solutions to some of our biggest challenges.”
The VIBES Scottish Environment Business Awards is a partnership between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), The Scottish Government, Energy Saving Trust, Highland & Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Scottish Water, Zero Waste Scotland and NatureScot.
This year’s judging panel includes Franceska van Dijk, Deputy Chair, SEPA, Robbie Kernahan is Director for Green Economy at NatureScot, and Jane Morrison-Ross, CEO, South of Scotland Enterprise.
Businesses have until 5pm on 14 April 2023 to submit their free application. Finalists will be announced in May before the annual awards ceremony in November.
For more information on VIBES – Scottish Environment Business Awards, please visit www.vibes.org.uk.
Scottish members of a grassroots ‘community rail’ movement are joining forces to support a shift to greener, healthier, fairer transport, and encouraging people to ditch the car for one in five journeys when they can.
The country’s network of community rail partnerships, supported by Community Rail Network and Paths for All, used the 2023 Rail Scotland Conference to launch their ‘Let’s go for 1 in 5’ campaign, in support of Transport Scotland’s commitment to cutting car use by 20% by 2030. They used the conference to explore how the rail industry can play a key role, working with communities, to support more sustainable journeys that work for everyone and protect our climate.
From the Borders to the Highlands, Scotland’s community rail partnerships engage communities with their local railways and stations, enabling and encouraging more people to get around sustainably by train. Since the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, they have been raising awareness of how green rail is compared to driving (see statistics below), and working with communities and rail partners to make it easier to use the train combined with walking, wheeling and cycling, buses and community transport.
Transport is the largest contributor to climate emissions in Scotland. In response to the climate emergency, Transport Scotland has committed to reducing emissions by 75% by 2030, and net-zero by 2045. Rail accounted for just 1% of UK domestic transport emissions in 2019, despite representing 7% of the total distance travelled, and for a 30-mile journey, travelling by train instead of by car can reduce emissions by up to 86%.
Community Rail Network chief executive Jools Townsend told the conference how community rail, and the new campaign, contributes to Scotland’s vision of a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system. This allied to some of the major themes of the event – which also featured an address from Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth MSP – such as modal shift from road to rail and the rail network’s net-zero targets.
Ms Townsend said: “Cutting car use by 20% is crucial to tackling the climate emergency, and it can unleash great benefits for communities and families too, by improving health and wellbeing, addressing the cost of living, and making our streets and communities safer, nicer places.
“But we know it’s not so simple as ‘persuading’ people to ditch the car: as well as raising awareness we need to break down barriers and widen access to public and community transport, combined with walking, wheeling and cycling.
“Community rail and other locally-led initiatives have a vital part to play. We’re all about helping communities to feel confident and positive about rail and sustainable travel, addressing issues and worries people might have, and helping communities to have a voice and shape a green and inclusive transport future.
“We’re encouraging communities across Scotland to get involved, and for drivers to consider how they can help Scotland make the ‘1 in 5’ switch, to more climate-safe and community-friendly journeys.”
Community rail works across Britain to develop the place of railways and stations at the heart of local communities, and help communities get maximum benefit from rail. This growing, thriving grassroots movement, brought together under Community Rail Network, is made up of 76 community rail partnerships and 1,200+ station friends’ groups and other local groups.
The partnerships are supported by Community Rail Network and the Smarter Choices, Smarter Places programme, funded by Transport Scotland and administered by Paths for All. This support helps to develop projects and deliver work promoting sustainable journeys with rail at their heart.
Graham McQueen, Smarter Choices, Smarter Places manager, said:“Paths for All’s Smarter Choices Smarter Places Open Fund is about supporting local and community-based transport solutions to the climate crisis.
“We want to see more people walking, cycling and using more sustainable forms of transport for their everyday journeys. Projects like this that encourage people to get out of their cars and travel more sustainably are fantastic examples of how grassroots community organisations can lead on the changes we need to make happen”.
Huge charitable effort from Greene King pubs across Scotland as they raise a phenomenal £193,743 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2022
Greene King’s total raised for Macmillan Cancer Support tops an incredible £3million in 2022, the highest 12-month total
Greene King has raised over £14million during its10-year partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support
Greene King pubs across Scotland raised an amazing £193,743 for Macmillan Cancer Support in 2022 to help people living with cancer.
The brilliant fundraising efforts by pub teams and the generous support of customers means that the money raised can be used to support the 155 Macmillan professionals currently funded by the charity across Scotland such as specialist dietitians, therapists and the iconic Macmillan nurse.
Greene King, the UK’s leading pub company and brewer, has now raised a staggering £14million for Macmillan over its 10-year charity partnership. The tenth year marked a record breaking £3million annual total for the charity. This equates to £342 raised every hour in 2022, which is enough to fund a Macmillan nurse for a whole day.
There was an outstanding effort from kind-hearted regulars and team members at Greene King’s Smiddy Inn in Cumbernauld where a phenomenal £12,518 was raised over the past year.
There was a busy calendar of fundraising events at the popular Ben Lawers Drive pub involving the pub team, regulars and the wider community. Highlights included walking the Rob Roy, the family fun day and taking part in the Edinburgh Tartan Track as well as a host of raffles, hampers, quizzes and bingo nights.
Julia Hutton, general manager of the Smiddy Inn, said: “We are just so proud of everyone’s efforts here at the pub. We were determined to pull out all the stops and set our targets high. And we did it!
“This really was a team effort. The fun days, craft days and Christmas market were great. At every event we have a raffle table, it’s simple but effective and keeps the money rolling in. We go around the pub with collection buckets and people are always happy to pop some money in.
“Our thanks go out to everyone who works here and all our customers. What a year it has been. We have a wall chart showing what we have raised so everyone can see the progress we are making. We’ve had fun in our fundraising and it’s been great to do our bit. Let’s see what we can do in 2023!”
Alison Ramsay, senior social impact manager at Greene King, said: “This is proof that charity really is at the heart of all our pubs. What better way is there to celebrate our 10-year partnership with Macmillan than by having a record-breaking 12-months of fundraising.
“Our teams and customers are simply brilliant to have raised over £3million in 2022. Sadly, we all know someone living with cancer but we know every single pound raised in our pubs helps.”
Local Macmillan Relationship Fundraising Manager, Kirsteen Plop, said: “What a fantastic effort. A big thank you and well done to all the Greene King team members and customers at the Smiddy Inn in Cumbernauld for their amazing fundraising. £12,518 is such a brilliant total.
“Right now, Macmillan is needed now more than ever, and we want to be there for people living with cancer in our community. Macmillan services, such as the innovative and free 12-week Macmillan Move More – North Lanarkshire programme which offers a wide variety of gentle exercise sessions in a number of locations, make a real difference to the lives of people living with cancer and we simply couldn’t do what we do without the support of our partners like Greene King.
“We’re immensely grateful to everyone at Greene King for their continued and generous support of Macmillan and the millions of pounds that the partnership has raised over the years.”
One of Edinburgh’s leading third and voluntary sector organisations is set to take forward plans to find a sustainable community-led future for the Gorgie City Farm site.
Edinburgh Voluntary Organisations Council (EVOC) has agreed to manage a community-led project to find a possible solution, following discussions with the City of Edinburgh Council after the closure of the site last month.
EVOC is one of three partners that make up Edinburgh’s TSI (Third Sector Interface), helping to support and develop the city’s community and voluntary sector, with a role to develop robust solutions and approaches that underpin strong organisations.
Their role will not be to run the farm, but to work with local community, and all stakeholders. This will result in a stronger plan for Gorgie City Farm to re-open, with a strong sustainable plan for the future.
The first step will be for EVOC to bring together a Steering Group – expected to include representatives from the local voluntary sector, campaign groups, the local community and the Council – to work on identifying proposals that could secure its future.
The partnership Steering Group will start from the principle that it will bring together city experts in key respective fields, to support local volunteering through to organisations who have social enterprise aspirations, and connect these together.
Bridie Ashrowan, Chief Executive of EVOC, said: “We understand that Gorgie City Farm is very important to the Gorgie and the wider Edinburgh community, the many people who have visited, volunteered or worked there, and the City of Edinburgh Council.
EVOC has a long history of supporting community and voluntary organisations, helping them to get established, to grow and assess how to develop, and being the honest broker, to focus minds on the task ahead.
“We are committed to taking a community led approach to this project, learning from other successful collaborations in the City.
!We have no vested interest in the future of the Gorgie Farm site and will step back if and when a community-led partnership has been established, through the work of the steering group. This will lay the ground work for Gorgie Farm site having a fighting chance of long term viability.”
Council Leader Cammy Day said: “I’m delighted we’ve got EVOC on board for the Gorgie City Farm site as they have a proven track record in supporting local organisations that need expert advice. At the heart of the work they will be taking forward are options for a community-led, collaborative and financially sustainable future for the site.
“I want to thank everyone who has been working so hard both publicly and behind the scenes to find a solution. The work by the campaign groups, volunteers and other partners has been really impressive and shows the strength of feeling towards this valuable community asset which benefits all communities across the city.
“I’m sure the coming months will be exciting times as EVOC brings people, groups and organisations together to look at options for a sustainable future for the Gorgie City Farm site. I look forward to them presenting a sustainable vision for the future of Gorgie City Farm to the local community soon so everyone in the city can enjoy all it has to offer for years to come.”
John Swinney thanked for “support, wisdom and friendship”
Deputy First Minister John Swinney has announced he is leaving the Scottish Government after nearly 16 years.
He will stand down as Deputy First Minister once a new First Minister is appointed later this month and return to the backbenches. He is the longest serving Deputy First Minister on record, having held the post for almost nine years, and also served as Education Secretary and two tenures as Finance Secretary, latterly in an interim role.
In a letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Swinney says it has been an “honour to serve Scotland” and that he has always sought “to transform the life chances of everyone.”
In her reply, the First Minister pays tribute to Mr Swinney’s “deep care and attention to the wellbeing of our nation” and says she could not have wished for a better “partner in government”.
Mr Swinney’s letter to the First Minister
It has been the privilege of my life to serve in the Scottish Government since 2007 as a Cabinet Secretary with responsibility first for Finance and the Economy, then Education and Skills and finally Covid Recovery. It has been my honour to serve Scotland as your Deputy First Minister since 2014.
These have been demanding commitments to fulfil over nearly 16 years and I have decided that, when the First Minister is appointed later in March, I will stand down from government.
When I joined the Scottish National Party at the age of 15 in 1979, our political prospects were poor and I could scarcely have imagined that over so many years I would have the opportunity to serve Scotland in government in the way I have.
In all that I have undertaken in government, I have tried to listen carefully to different views and be open to the ideas and thoughts of people in Scotland. I have sought always to transform the life chances of everyone who lives here. I have acted to make Scotland a fairer, more prosperous and more confident country that I believe would be assured with Independence.
In all of that work, I have deeply valued the advice and professionalism offered to me by so many outstanding civil servants with whom I have had the privilege to work. They are a credit to their service. I have been touched constantly by the kindness of people in Scotland and their understanding of the many challenges with which we have to wrestle in Government. I am grateful to my ministerial and parliamentary colleagues for their collaboration and support. And I am indebted to you for your leadership, constancy, friendship and loyalty.
I will continue to faithfully represent my constituents in Perthshire North and look forward to sitting with you on the back benches of the Scottish Parliament to continue our contribution to Scotland’s cause.
Thank you for the opportunity you have given me to serve my country.
The First Minister’s reply
Thank you for your letter.
Your contribution to our nation, almost 16 years in government is considerable, indeed unique. Therefore, while I – perhaps more than most – completely understand your decision, I still felt a real sense of sadness when you told me of it.
As Finance and Economy Secretary in our newly formed Scottish Government in 2007, you steered us successfully through budget after budget, laying the foundations for a long list of policy successes.
You were also the architect of a new partnership with local government, and helped negotiate a a new financial settlement with the UK Government, the Fiscal Framework, rebuffing in the process attempts to strip Scotland of funding.
As Education Secretary, you piloted reforms that are now delivering progress in our mission to close the attainment gap. You presided over an increase in teacher numbers and opened university education to record numbers of young people from the poorest backgrounds.
Perhaps most significantly for the long-term, you delivered the biggest expansion in early learning and childcare in our country’s history – a transformation that will change the lives of future generations of children for the better. I know you are as proud of this policy as I am – and rightly so.
Your role in Scotland’s recovery from Covid also merits special mention. From the darkest days of the first lockdown, you led our work on the ‘four-harms’ approach that guided exit from public health restrictions. From a more personal perspective, your friendship and wise counsel during the pandemic, which was by far the most challenging period of my tenure as First Minister, was invaluable and helped me through some really tough days.
You returned for a second, interim tenure as Finance Secretary just as UK Government mismanagement was causing calamity in the nation’s finances and economy. However, in the face of spiraling inflation, you focussed firmly on protecting the most vulnerable, tackling child poverty, addressing climate change and building sustainable public services.
Bringing to bear all your experience of government – and the deep care and attention to the wellbeing of our nation that I know you feel – you helped protect thousands from the full impact of the cost of living crisis. Securing funding for the expansion of the game-changing Scottish Child Payment was the most important of many initiatives.
There is so much more that I could highlight. Over almost 16 years in government, more than eight years as Deputy First Minister – indeed, the longest serving Deputy First Minister so far – you have made countless contributions to the good of our people and our country.
In short, I could not have wished for a better partner in government than you, and there is no doubt that our Scottish Government would have achieved much less had you not been in it.
Please accept my thanks for your support, wisdom and, above all, friendship as together with Ministers past and present, we sought to make Scotland a better place. As I said when I announced my own departure from office, serving as First Minister has been the privilege of my life – having done so with you by my side as Deputy First Minister has been an honour.
As for the future, I know you will continue to serve Scotland well and that you will be, as you always have been, a source of good advice and wise counsel to our party, government and movement. I look forward to this new phase – for both of us – as we move to the backbenches and make way for the new generation who will now lead Scotland forward.
