The field includes five SNP MSPs, two Labour, two Tory and one Liberal Democrat. Until now, the largest number of applicants has been four at the start of a parliamentary term. The 10 will be whittled down by a series of elimination ballots, with the winners receiving a £30,351 office holder’s salary on top of their MSP’s basic of £64,470. The names of the candidates was read out at the Scottish Parliament by the new Presiding Officer, former Green Alison Johnstone, who was the sole nominee yesterday. The SNP MSP candidates are Clare Adamson, James Dornan, Annabelle Ewing, Bill Kidd and Stuart McMillan.
Green MSP elected Holyrood presiding officer after party co-leader backs end of monarchy
Alison Johnstone was the only MSP to put herself forward for the key role, Holyrood s equivalent of the Commons Speaker.
13 May 2021 • 6:29pm
Newly elected Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament Alison Johnstone
Credit: Getty Images Europe
A Green MSP has been elected as the Scottish Parliament s presiding officer and main contact with the Queen after the party s leader said he was looking forward to the end of the monarchy.
Alison Johnstone was the only MSP to put herself forward for the key role, Holyrood s equivalent of the Commons Speaker, after a series of other potential frontrunners ruled themselves out.
nicola sturgeon by Colin Mearns Glasgow’s SNP MSPs have all said they will be pushing ahead for a second independence referendum. The city re-elected thenationalists in all eight seats once again as the party won another election in Glasgow and across Scotland. After two days of counting at the Emirates Arena, the election map in Glasgow is exactly the same as it was in 2016. While there are four new MSPs representing the city, the results for each party were the same as five years ago. The SNP once again won all eight constituency seats. In the regional list the arithmetic to decide who get the seats based on proportionality produced the same result as it did at the last election.
There are 15 MSPs representing the city eight SNP, four Labour, two Conservative and one Green. Only one of the original 1999 intake of MSPs remains in Glasgow. Nicola Sturgeon has been an ever present since the first parliament session. Six other SNP MSPs have been re-elected for another term, Bill Kidd, James Dornan, Bob Doris, Humza Yousaf, Ivan McKee and John Mason. Two Labour MSPs return on the list Anas Sarwar and Pauline McNeill, while Annie wells has been re-elected for the Conservatives and Patrick Harvie for the Greens. The history makers are Kaukab Stewart, who became the first woman of colour to be elected to Holyrood, winning Glasgow Kelvin, with her result being declared before tory MSP Pam Gosal was elected in the West of Scotland list.
Nicola Sturgeon applauded Stewart as she arrived at the count to congratulate her new parliamentary colleague. She said: “I have never wanted to hug someone so much in my life,” the First Minister said, adding she was “thrilled beyond words” at the result. “It has taken us far too long, more than 20 years, but today she becomes the first woman of colour to be elected to our national Parliament,” she said. “Party politics aside this is a really special and a very significant moment for Scotland and I could not be prouder right now.” Glasgow Kelvin had been a key seat for the SNP to hold – and Stewart comfortably saw off a challenge from the Green’s co-leader Patrick Harvie who was bidding to become the first from his party to win a constituency seat in Scotland.