Desmond Swayne

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This article is written in the 'future' (2023) and thus does not reflect the state of affairs in the present day, 1954. It does however represent a premonition of what is to come.

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## Desmond Swayne

### Ideology

Scottish nationalismConservative nationalism

## Politics

### Ranks held

Defence Spokesman 2004-2011
 Financial Affairs Spokesman 2011-2015
 Leader of Gàidheal 2015-2017
 Home Affairs Spokesman 2017-2020
 Health Spokesperson 2020-

**Desmond Angus Swayne** is a Scottish politician and soldier who has been Member of the Common Assembly for North Ayrshire and Arran since 2000. He has been leader of Gàidheal since December 2022, having previously led the party from 2015 to 2017. A close ally of Alex Salmond, he served as Defence Spokesperson and later Financial Affairs Spokesperson under the other's leadership, during which time he earned the moniker "The Wolf" for his aggressive performances in the Common Assembly and his distinctive white hair.

In 2015, Swayne was elected to succeed Salmond as leader of Gàidheal, following the latter's resignation in the wake of the 2015 Scottish independence referendum. Opinion on his leadership was mixed; whilst he was consistently popular with grassroots voters, and won praise for his performance in MPQs, concerns were frequently raised about his ability to effectively administer the party, and his capability handling the day-to-day affairs of the office. This was perhaps best encapsulated by an incident in 2016, when Swayne appeared to doze off during a Commons debate.

Swayne led Gàidheal into the 2017 general election, which saw the party gain in both votes and seats, leaving them the largest party in Scotland in the Common Assembly. Yet despite this victories, many felt that the party's performance ultimately represented a missed opportunity, having failed to sustain the level of momentum kept up since their original 2009 breakthrough. With discontent in the party mounting, Swayne announced his resignation three days after the election, declaring that "now is the time for fresh minds to address the cause for Scottish self-determination".

Murdo Fraser, the victor of the ensuing leadership contest, retained Swayne in his frontbench team as Home Affairs Spokesperson, a highly prominent role. Despite no longer acting as leader, Swayne remained a key actor in the party, playing a pivotal role in shaping Gàidheal's opposition to the EUROCOM Accords. Following the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fraser carried out a reshuffle that saw Swayne moved to the newly important Health brief, interpreted by some as a way to move the former leader away from the centre of party affairs. Yet Swayne instead became more prominent through his vocal opposition to lockdown restrictions, an issue that appeared increasingly to divide the moderate and more right-wing sections of the party as the pandemic continued.

Scottish independence remained an issue too, despite the 'No' vote's defeat in the 2015 referendum. In Gàidheal's manifesto ahead of the 2019 Scottish Congress elections, the party had pledged to hold a second referendum, in light of the imminent signing of the EUROCOM Accords and the close nature of the first vote. This had been derailed by the pandemic, but in 2022 Gàidheal formally took the British government to court over their refusal to grant a second vote. Following a weeks-long high-profile case, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favour of the Government in November 2022, a blow to the Scottish nationalist movement.

In the immediate aftermath, Swayne was amongst the most prominent of a number of voices advocating the party stage an illegal referendum, inspired by that carried out in Brittany eight years earlier. Fraser, however, refused. A crisis in the party quickly spiralled, as the right-wing faction's long-simmering grievances over Fraser's leadership exploded into the open. In early December, they successfully triggered a leadership contest -- Swayne was duly encouraged to stand on behalf of the party's right against his successor for the leadership. A bitter two-week contest followed, notable for heavy snowfall in Scotland that forced Fraser to cancel a series of planned campaign rallies. Swayne's supporters for their part concentrated on individual canvassing, something that many later credited for his victory; when the contest closed on December 21st, Swayne narrowly beat Fraser by 8,500 votes, 55%, thus being reelected leader of Gàidheal.

Swayne immediately announced that plans for an illegal second independence referendum would be included in the Gàidheal manifesto for the next general election, scheduled for May 2023, and coinciding with elections to the Scottish Congress. The declaration was condemned by Westminster, in what pundits named the lowest point in Westminster-Holyrood relations since the Counterrevolution. Opinion polls since the announcement have varied wildly, with the policy unpopular with swing voters but hugely successful with Gàidheal's base. It remains to be seen how the party will perform come May, and how the future of Scotland may be shaped as a result.