Veteran MSPs say goodbye to Parliament for the last time

Some MSPs who have been in Parliament since the beginning won't be running for re-election.

Published 23rd Mar 2016

Some Members of Scottish Parliament won’t be returning after proceedings come to a close today ahead of May’s election.

Constituents in some areas will be saying goodbye to MSPs who have been in Holyrood since it was founded in 1999.

24 members in total have chosen not to stand for re-election.

The most well-known of these is former First Minister Alex Salmond, who won’t try to maintain his seat for Aberdeenshire East.

Mr Salmond led the SNP on-and-off for over 20 years before passing the baton on to Nicola Sturgeon in 2014.

This won’t be the end of his political career, however, as he is still holds the seat for Gordon in Westminster.

Previous leader of the Scottish Conservatives Annabel Goldie has also chosen not to stand in the election.

She isn’t finished with politics either, as she has taken up a position in the House of Lords.

Also leaving is Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick, who has been an MSP for the Fife area since Parliament’s creation.

Retiring after 17 years as an MSP, she was also became the first woman to preside over Parliament in 2011.

Formerly an SNP member, Mrs Marwick gave up her membership when she took up her current position so she could remain neutral.

MSPs will have a motion of thanks for her before Parliament dissolves later.

She said: “Of the original 129 MSPs that were elected in 1999, there are only 30 who are standing for re-election.”

“So, it certainly feels like the end of an era.”