SNP MSP Annabelle Ewing has been elected to serve as the Scottish Parliament s Deputy Presiding Officer after a lengthy voting process. Ewing, the SNP member for Cowdenbeath, was elected to the role to assist Presiding Officer Alison Johnstone who became the first Green MSP to take on the role yesterday. After almost four hours of voting with 10 candidates putting their names forward for the role, Ewing emerged as the elected Deputy Presiding Officer with 64 votes. In the final round of voting, Ewing beat out Labour MSP Rhoda Grant (16 votes) and LibDem MSP Liam McArthur (44 votes). There was one abstention. Ewing was one of five SNP MSPs to put their names forward, joined by Clare Adamson, James Dornan, Bill Kidd and Stuart McMillan.
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.
MSPs to be sworn in at Holyrood tomorrow
Eight MSPs will take the oath as part of the new five-year session of Scottish Parliament.
Stephanie Callaghan, SNP, won the Uddingston and Bellshill seat (Image: Stuart Vance/ReachPlc)
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SHE’S been on the Scottish Parliament campaign trail for weeks while running her own push for Westminster. Going by last week’s Holyrood election results, the odds are in SNP candidate Anum Qaisar-Javed’s favour ahead of this week’s Airdrie and Shotts by-election. The vacancy opened up when the SNP’s Neil Gray resigned from the seat to stand in for the Scottish Parliament. He was successful, as was every other SNP constituency candidate in North Lanarkshire. The local authority area, once solidly Labour red, is once again completely yellow – voters elected five separate SNP MSPs, including Clare Adamson, Jamie Hepburn, Fulton MacGregor and Stephanie Callaghan.