Shona Robison has urged her successor as Scotland’s Finance Secretary to be “bold and ambitious” after Holyrood backed the Scottish Government’s latest Budget settlement. Reflecting on a 27–year career at the Scottish Parliament, she described it as an “honour and a privilege” to serve as an MSP and to have held senior roles including health secretary, social justice secretary, deputy first minister and, most recently, Finance Secretary.
Robison said that, of all the ministerial positions she has held, the finance brief had been “the most rewarding by far”, underlining the central role of the Budget in shaping Scotland’s public services and economic priorities. Her departure comes at a pivotal moment for the Scottish Government, with the new Finance Secretary inheriting a challenging fiscal landscape and ongoing debates over funding arrangements between Holyrood and Westminster.
In urging a bold approach, Robison signalled that her successor will need to balance support for public services with the pressures of limited revenue and wider economic uncertainty. Business leaders and public sector organisations will now look to the new Budget team for clarity on tax, investment and spending plans that can support growth while maintaining essential services.
Robison’s long tenure at Holyrood, spanning key social justice and health portfolios as well as the top economic role, means her influence on policy over nearly three decades has been significant. As she steps back, attention turns to whether the next Finance Secretary will continue her strategy or seek a different path in tackling Scotland’s budgetary and economic challenges.
