FORMER Scottish Government minister Bruce Crawford has announced he is quitting Holyrood at next year’s elections.
Crawford, 65, who has been an MSP since the Scottish Parliament began in 1999, said he was stepping down to spend more time with his family, including his three “wonderful” grandchildren.
By the time he leaves, he will have spent 33 years as an elected politician, having served as a councillor – and council leader – in Perth and Kinross before entering Holyrood.
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First Minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon was among those who paid tribute to Mr Crawford, saying it was hard to imagine the Scottish Parliament without him. She tweeted: “His counsel and friendship to me have been invaluable over many years.
“He has been an outstanding minister, committee chair and constituency champion. He’ll be much missed.”
Crawford said it had been an “honour and a privilege” to serve as the MSP for Stirling, as well as in the Scottish Cabinet, where he was responsible for parliamentary business and Government strategy.
He was promoted to that role in 2011 after four years as parliamentary business minister – a key position in the minority SNP administration that was in place between 2007 and 2011.
He is currently convener of the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Constitution Committee, a role which has involved him scrutinising legislation linked to Brexit and also the bill that could pave the way for a second independence referendum.
Crawford said: “While I am still enjoying being an MSP, my wife has already retired and we have three wonderful young grandchildren for whom we want to create much more space in our lives.
“It has been an honour and privilege to serve as the MSP for the Stirling constituency as well as to have the opportunity to be a Cabinet secretary, a committee convener, the SNP business convener and a council leader all over the last 33 politically-packed years.”
Crawford added: “At Holyrood, being part of the first-ever SNP Government and helping to ensure stability for a minority Government was challenging but very rewarding.
“Latterly, I have also enjoyed being the convener of the Finance and Constitution Committee and the SNP group convener.
“I will miss working with, and for, so many people in the Stirling constituency.
“I will, of course, continue as an MSP for more than another year and during that time I hope to say a personal thank you to the many people who have been part of my life over the years in both the constituency and at Holyrood.”
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There is speculation that a number of other long serving SNP MSPs may also been standing down.
The National has contacted a number of people we heard about.
However other veterans are hoping to stay on. They include the South of Scotland SNP MSP Christine Grahame who will be staying on to fight for a further term in 2021.
Earlier this month The National revealed that SNP MSPs who were standing down were told to let the party HQ know by early March.
The party is keen to see a new politicians enter Holyrood next year and also to increase the proportion of female MSPs.
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In an internal session at the party’s annual conference in Aberdeen in October, members voted to allow the SNP’s National Executive Committee to direct constituency branches to submit an all-female shortlist when a constituency MSP is retiring or standing down.
Following the announcement by Crawford that he is stepping down it is possible Stirling will have an all female shortlist of prospective SNP candidates.
Possible female Holyrood candidates could include Catriona McDonald who stood unsuccessfully at the Westminster election in December for Edinburgh South and Sarah Masson who stood unsuccessfully in December in Edinburgh West.
McDonald was defeated by Labour’s Ian Murray, while Masson lost to the Lib Dems’ Christine Jardine.
Former MEP Aileen Macleod may also be among the female SNP politicians who want to stand for Holyrood.
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