Dundee MSP Joe Fitzpatrick to stand down at next election

He has served at local and national level for nearly 30 years

Author: Kara ConwayPublished 29th Jan 2025
Last updated 29th Jan 2025

Veteran SNP politician Joe Fitzpatrick has announced he will step down at the next election.

The Dundee West MSP won his seat in 2007 and went on to serve as the Minister for Parliamentary Business from 2012-2018 followed by the Minister for Public Health from 2018-2020.

However, he lost this job in 2020 when Scotland recoded its highest ever number of drug deaths.

More recently, he worked as the Minister for Local Government Empowerment from 2023 - 2024.

Before being elected to the Scottish Parliament, Fitzpatrick served on Dundee City Council, representing Longhaugh for eight years.

He said it has been a 'tremendous honour' to represent the people of Dundee for nearly three decades.

Fitzpatrick said:

'The transformation of Dundee over the past 27 years has been nothing short of remarkable. There is now a real confidence amongst Dundonians about the city’s progress and its future that just wasn’t really there before.'

Mr Fitzpatrick went on to say that he is proud to have taken the lead on legislation to introduce a lobbying register that improved parliamentary transparency, to have secured an opt-out organ donation system, and to have delivered a fully-funded national Council Tax Freeze during the cost of living crisis.

He has said he is even prouder that Dundee became Scotland's so-called 'Yes City' following strong support for independence in the 2014 referendum.

He added:

“After 19 years as an MSP, I feel that now is the right time for me to step down and give someone else the opportunity to stand as the local SNP candidate, so that they can take forward our strong record of delivering for Dundee.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank my constituency team and the wider SNP family who have supported me in everything I have done over the years.”

First Minister John Swinney paid tribute to him as a 'devoted servant' of the people of Dundee west and 'huge' part of the SNP's success in the city.

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