The next item of business is consideration of motion S4M-16027, in the name of Nicola Sturgeon, on a motion of thanks to the Presiding Officer.
12:30
I begin remarks by remembering and paying tribute to the four MSPs who were elected to Parliament in 2011 but who are no longer with us: Brian Adam, Helen Eadie, Margo MacDonald and David McLetchie. As we look back over the past five years, we remember how much they contributed and how much we continue to miss them.
I also want to acknowledge the 24 MSPs from across the chamber who will not be seeking re-election on 5 May. We thank them for their service and wish them all the very best for the future. All of them—each and every one—can be proud of the contribution that they have made to the Parliament and of their service to the people of our country.
Of course, 12 of the MSPs who are standing down today were elected to the very first session of Parliament in 1999, and they therefore merit special mention. They are Malcolm Chisholm, Alex Fergusson, Annabel Goldie, Hugh Henry, Adam Ingram, Kenny MacAskill, Jamie McGrigor, Fiona McLeod, Duncan McNeil, Alex Salmond, Mary Scanlon and Richard Simpson—and, of course, there is our Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick.
All have been fine and dedicated MSPs. Five of them have served as ministers. Annabel Goldie was the first female party leader at Holyrood—in that she set an important and, in my view, highly desirable precedent. In the previous session, Alex Fergusson was a distinguished Presiding Officer. Alex Salmond was my predecessor as First Minister and my boss for the first seven and a half years of the Government. I owe him a particular debt of gratitude. He is leaving the Scottish Parliament for the second time—although whether or not it is for the last time remains to be seen.
I want to take the opportunity to pay tribute to someone else who has announced today that he is stepping down in May. He is not a member of the Scottish Parliament, but he regularly sits in the chamber. I refer to Scotland’s Lord Advocate. Frank Mulholland has been an outstanding Lord Advocate. He has reformed the Crown Office, transformed the prosecution of sexual offences and domestic abuse cases, and been a source of thoughtful, reliable and at times robust advice to the Scottish Government. I take the opportunity on behalf of all of us to thank him for his service to Scotland. [Applause.]
The last of the class of 1999 standing down today is Tricia Marwick, who has served the Parliament as Presiding Officer for the last five years. Five years ago I was very proud to see a long-standing and great friend assume the office of Presiding Officer. Today, as the first female First Minister of Scotland, it is a pleasure as well as an honour for me to pay tribute to the Parliament’s first female Presiding Officer.
Tricia Marwick’s election as Presiding Officer was historic for that reason, but it broke new ground in other ways, too. Not just the first woman to hold the role, Tricia Marwick is also the first to have reached the office without a private school education or a university degree—something that our Presiding Officer and her family are rightly proud of, as they should be.
Even more important than any of that, of course, is the way in which Tricia Marwick has conducted herself in office: she has been an outstanding and a pioneering Presiding Officer. Tricia Marwick has been a true champion of the rights and standing of the Parliament as an institution. She has been willing to challenge all parties in this chamber, to hold us to account and, for the most part, to hold us in good order. At times that has been to the deep discomfort of all of us, in different ways and at different times.
Tricia Marwick has always been prepared to do things a little bit differently. At all times, she has shown wisdom, good sense, good humour and complete impartiality. While as Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick has shown huge commitment to the Parliament as an institution, she has never forgotten that her first and most important duty is to serve the people of her constituency. I know how proud Tricia Marwick has been to represent her home constituency of Mid Fife and Glenrothes and I am prepared to bet that the people of that constituency are also very proud of Tricia Marwick.
There is no doubt that our Presiding Officer will be a huge loss to the Parliament, although I know that our loss will be her beloved grandchildren’s gain. Presiding Officer, for the final time, and on behalf of us all, I thank you for your service and I wish you and your family all the very best for the future. [Applause.]
The Parliament that will reconvene in this chamber in May will not just have new faces; it will have new powers and responsibilities. In many ways, that is a testament to the Parliament’s success during the past 17 years. Since 1999, we have become the focus of Scottish public life—the chamber that people respect and trust to reflect their priorities, values and dreams. That has not come quickly, as those of us who were elected in 1999 can well recall; it has been earned during the past four parliamentary sessions and it is an achievement that belongs to MSPs from all parties.
The growth in the chamber’s status and responsibilities should inspire MSPs in the next session of Parliament to work even harder to serve the people of our country. It should be a source of pride for all 24 of the MSPs who are standing down today that they have contributed to making our Parliament what it is. It is fitting that Parliament should place its gratitude to them on the record, and it is very fitting that, today, the Parliament should record our thanks to our history-making Presiding Officer.
I move,
That the Parliament expresses its thanks to its Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick, for her dedicated service to the Parliament and pays tribute to all of those other Members who are standing down at the end of this session.
12:37
I rise to add my support to the motion in the First Minister’s name.
When the story of this parliamentary session is written, what will it say? Might it say that this was the Parliament that righted many long-standing wrongs, that it gave same-sex couples the right to marry and the deaf community the recognition of an official language, and that it stood up to the shame of modern slavery and human trafficking?
Might it say that, despite the division bill ringing three times a week for the past five years, the most memorable division was on 18 September 2014 when the whole country divided between yes and no?
Might it remember the days when we united as one around motions of condolence, as we did this morning to reflect on the terrible events in Brussels, and as we did just four months ago for the very same thing in Paris?
Might it mark those sad and sorry days where we mourned the passing of one of our own? Losing Brian Adam, David McLetchie, Margo MacDonald and Helen Eadie touched each corner of the chamber, but it united us all together as one.
In happier news, might the history books say that this was the Parliament that shattered the glass ceiling when three parties shared no fewer than five female leaders? Might it say that this was the time when the Parliament came of age, demanding financial independence and more responsibility?
Although all that is up for debate, Tricia Marwick’s place in the history books is guaranteed. She is the first female Presiding Officer and the first publicly educated one. She is a working class champion, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to put my party’s thanks on the record for all that she has done in that role.
Presiding Officer, I would like also to say a personal thanks for the good guidance you have offered me. It feels not like five years ago but a lifetime ago that I was sat in your office to receive a dressing-down for having broken the parliamentary rules. My crime was bringing a simulator baby into the chamber to demonstrate the problems of finding affordable childcare. The next day, the front page of my local newspaper splashed with “Baby MSP put on the naughty step”, but I was not there for long as you guided me towards a smarter way to make my point and I grew up faster because of it.
From your trademark “wheesht” to the advice and guidance offered to so many new members, you will be remembered very fondly by those members you leave behind. However, you have left a lasting mark on the Parliament too. From reforming the parliamentary week to transforming the Parliament into a fantastic art space, you have innovated at every turn. Although you will be missed, there is a legacy to be proud of.
When you walk out of the chamber today, Presiding Officer, seven members of my group will retire with you: Drew Smith, Graeme Pearson, Margaret McDougall, Hugh Henry, Duncan McNeil, Malcolm Chisholm and Dr Richard Simpson. Collectively, they have served 79 years in the Parliament and it will be weaker in their absence. I pay tribute to every one of them.
To all the members who are stepping down today, I send sincere thanks on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party for their years of public service, and I wish them all a happy, prosperous and peaceful life beyond elected politics.
12:40
I, too, support the motion in the name of the First Minister and pay tribute to colleagues on all sides of the chamber who are standing down today.
From the Conservative benches, we bid a fond farewell to many of our most redoubtable characters: Annabel Goldie, our leader emeritus; the former Presiding Officer, Alex Fergusson; original members of the class of 1999 in Mary Scanlon and Jamie McGrigor; and Gavin Brown, Nanette Milne and Cameron Buchanan. Each has left their own mark on Parliament, and I thank all of them for their service to the Scottish Conservative Party and, more important, the people whom they have represented across Scotland.
I also remember those members lost to the Parliament from all corners of the chamber: Brian Adam, Helen Eadie, Margo MacDonald and David McLetchie. Their contributions enriched the Parliament.
This session has been a remarkable one for Parliament. Time and again, new ground has been broken: there have been greater powers, landmark legislation, a female First Minister and a female Presiding Officer. That has changed how the Parliament looks, sounds and functions.
Of course, Holyrood was not designed with majority government in mind but, over the past five years, that is what we have had. Colleagues on all sides will recognise that that has given rise to scenarios that were not present in previous sessions and generated important questions on accountability and structure. That issue is close to the Presiding Officer’s heart, and her recent comments about strengthening Holyrood’s committee system are worthy of serious reflection, especially as we contemplate future Scottish Governments with even greater legislative powers.
I turn to the motion and our Presiding Officer. When in the chair, Tricia Marwick has discharged her duties with consideration and good spirit. She is a principled and thoroughly decent person who has proven herself approachable to all members no matter which party they happen to represent. I thank her for that and for the personal kindness that she has shown to me over the years. As the Parliament matures, so too does the role of the Presiding Officer. Tricia Marwick has played an important part in that process and she leaves Parliament with our gratitude.
It is fair to say that my fellow Fifer has brought her own unique style to the post. I once had a foreign dignitary approach me and ask me one Thursday afternoon which part of parliamentary protocol was being referred to with the word “wheesht”, which was again in evidence today. Exactly that down-to-earth nature has endeared Tricia Marwick to many and made her a key part of Parliament life.
Like other members, I thank Tricia Marwick for her service. She leaves Parliament with the best wishes of the entire Scottish Conservative family.
12:43
It is difficult to believe that it has been five years since I first stood in the Parliament to share my opinions. I thank colleagues across the chamber for listening—or at least pretending to listen. Although we may have been political foes, I have always been grateful for the personal friendships. It is important to remember the members whom we have lost; those losses are still felt in the Parliament. I say to the members who retire today that we wish them well for the future.
We are grateful to Sir Paul Grice who, after 17 years as the chief executive of the Parliament, still leads a team of staff who serve all members with courtesy, discretion and diligence. We are grateful to the staff who support our committees and in the Scottish Parliament information centre, not least because we understand the enormous range of knowledge that they are expected to have at our immediate disposal. We wish them the best as they prepare for the new powers and responsibilities of this Parliament. Our thanks go to the business team, who are always able to assist and help members, and to the wider ancillary staff in every corner of the building who have helped us all every day.
Finally, Presiding Officer, I thank you for your service in the chair. You have remarked yourself how you could never have anticipated, when you grew up in a working-class community in Fife, that you would one day be our Parliament’s voice and ambassador, the first woman to do that and the first Presiding Officer from a state school; a Fifer at the heart of our Parliament—I like that.
You have fulfilled the job with distinction. My colleagues and I have been pleased to support you in your work. The radical reforms that you enacted to make our Parliament stronger and more effective, not least on topical questions, will stand as a permanent legacy in this place. You can be proud of the path that you have taken and the change that you have brought. Thank you.
12:46
Thank you for this opportunity to add my support for the motion and to echo the respect offered by others, in particular to those late members we all miss—Brian, David, Helen and Margo. Perhaps because of where she sat, I probably miss most of all the wit, wisdom and occasional barbed comment from Margo MacDonald just behind my left ear.
I echo Willie Rennie’s thanks to the many members of the Parliament’s wider staff team. None of us would be able to do our jobs without them doing their jobs to the high standard that they do.
The job of the person in the Presiding Officer’s chair is not always an easy one. I have to admit that we do not always make it an easy one. Our current Presiding Officer has undertaken that role at a time when life beyond Parliament has brought its own challenges and she has the respect and gratitude of Parliament for her service during that period.
Each session of this Parliament has had its own distinctive character and it has posed different challenges for our Presiding Officers—the beginning of devolution, with a coalition Administration; the rainbow Parliament, with new voices to be heard; a minority Government and the question of how scrutiny operates then; and a single party majority and the question of how to make scrutiny the robust and challenging process that is needed.
In taking on the office of Presiding Officer, Tricia Marwick recognised that reform was needed and she recognises, too, that it is still needed. Whoever has the privilege of sitting in members’ chairs in the chamber after 5 May must recognise the challenges that they will pose to whoever sits in that chair in allowing members to hold to account a more powerful Government with a wider range of responsibilities.
The voices of our previous Presiding Officers, including Tricia Marwick, will continue to inform us and we should allow our decisions about that on-going reform agenda to be informed by the experience that they have gained in each of those four previous sessions.
I offer my respect and thanks for the service of those members who are not standing for re-election. We have disagreed, sometimes robustly, but I think for the most part respectfully and the whole Parliament should be proud of that.
Thank you.
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