What happens next for new independence-supporting Scottish Parliament?

AFTER weeks of campaigning and two days of counting, Scots finally know who their MSPs will be in the next Scottish Parliament.

Some of the class of 2021 began arriving at Holyrood yesterday, where first-time MSPs began their induction in the labyrinthine Enric Miralles complex in central Edinburgh.

Greens co-leader Lorna Slater was amongst them, as was Kaukab Stewart of the SNP and Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross. Yes, he’s been an MSP before, but he’s had to be inducted again given that he quit the parliament in 2017 to take up his Westminster seat.

But it takes more than that to set up a whole new parliamentary term.

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SO HOW DOES IT WORK?

JOB number one is the formal swearing-in on Thursday, when all MSPs will have to take either the Oath of Allegiance or make a solemn affirmation.

Both pledge “faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, her heirs and successors, according to law” but the first also includes a religious reference that the second omits.

Last time round Nicola Sturgeon and Patrick Harvie (above) both made solemn affirmations after reaffirming the sovereignty of the Scottish people.

It’s been given in Doric, Gaelic, Urdu, Italian and French before, as well as English – which languages will this year’s intake use?

Next the First Minister will have to be elected.

WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT NICOLA STURGEON?

YES, she won her seat very comfortably and she has been the FM throughout the election period, but there’s a technicality here – she’ll need to be elected by MSPs to officially continue the job into the next five years.

That vote will likely happen next Tuesday, but the date’s yet to be confirmed.

SO WHAT ABOUT THE CABINET? WILL THERE BE A RESHUFFLE?

THERE’LL need to be changes at the top of the Scottish Government.

Former health secretary Jeane Freeman stepped down at the election, as did constitution, Europe and external affairs secretary Michael Russell, who’d led on Brexit.

Environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham and communities secretary Aileen Campbell also decided not to run again, while their colleague Paul Wheelhouse, who was minister for energy, connectivity and the islands, failed to win re-election.

It’s up to the First Minister to form the top team and then make this official through a parliamentary motion. We’re expecting this to happen on May 20.

It’s thought that the Cabinet itself will be restructured, perhaps to eight members from the previous 12, and that the number of ministers will then rise. That’ll mean combining some Cabinet portfolios, with some like finance and economy more easily merged than others.

We’d expect to see a significant role for first-time MSP Angus Robertson (above), given his experience in Westminster, and for the team to remain gender-balanced.

IS THAT EVERYTHING THAT NEEDS SORTED?

NOT even close – you’ve got the committee memberships to sort out and the new Scottish Parliament Corporate Body (SPCB) to appoint. The SCPB is led by the Presiding Officer, who’ll also need to be appointed once all the swearing-in is done – likely on Thursday.

Whoever holds that job has to remain impartial and so can’t take part in parliamentary votes. The SNP and Greens command a

pro-independence majority, but will they want to cede a member and risk losing votes on bills and other business?

Ken Macintosh of Labour held the post last time. Five members will join the Presiding Officer on the SPCB and the spaces on the rest of the committees will be allocated in proportion to the size of the parties.

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SO WHAT’S ON THE CARDS, POLITICALLY?

THE Greens and SNP have indicated they’ll work together to achieve their common goals.

They’ve teamed up before, of course, but the Greens have never been part of the Scottish Government. Slater’s suggested her party wants that to change.

If it does, that’ll be a significant shift.

Sturgeon’s made plain that Covid recovery is her first priority, and a review will take place today to set out the final decisions for the next easing of restrictions, which is scheduled for May 17 and should see Scotland shift from Level 3 to Level 2.

There’s masses of work to be linked to this, and in their First 100 days document, the SNP have vowed to consult on a National Care Service and establish a summer programme for school pupils.

They’ve also said they’ll give £100 to low-income families by the end of August and set up a Council for Economic Transformation, and begin a green jobs retraining initiative that ties in both economic and climate ambitions.

AND INDYREF2?

THAT’S going to be the big question. Alba had promised an immediate motion to begin talks with Westminster, but due to their zero MSPs that’s not now on the cards.

Indyref2 was debated for 1500 minutes in the last term. As it remains the central question in Scottish politics, we’ll start a sweepstake now on what this parliament’s total will be.