TORY MSP Adam Tomkins has announced he is standing down from the Scottish Parliament.
The Glasgow representative will not seek re-election at next year’s ballot.
Tomkins, the John Millar Professor of Public Law at the University of Glasgow, has cited personal reasons.
He commented: “Serving as one of our party’s elected representatives for Glasgow has been an enormous privilege and leaving the Scottish Parliament in 2021 will be a wrench.
“I am not leaving the Parliament for political reasons. I wish Jackson and his team every success.
“My reasons are personal, to do with the work I want to pursue in the coming years and to do with the kind of father I aspire to be to my four children.
“I know that I will be stepping down in circumstances where the party is so much stronger than it was five years ago.
“Crucially, however, we have a momentous election in only nine months’ time. Between now and then we must all work tirelessly to ensure that we return and elect the highest possible number of Conservative candidates, not only in Glasgow, but right across the country.”
Tomkins, a prominent Better Together campaigner ahead of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, was first elected to Holyrood in 2016.
Prior to winning his seat, Tomkins was a Conservative representative on the Smith Commission on devolution, set up by then prime minister David Cameron in the wake of the 2014 independence referendum.
Reacting to the announcement that he was standing down, Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw said: “I would like to thank Adam both for his personal support and advice, and also for the immense contribution he has made to the Scottish Conservative parliamentary group and the party as a whole.
“Adam has been an invaluable source of energy and intellect, compassion and humour.
“While Adam has made important interventions on the union, his work on social deprivation, drug addiction and live music in Glasgow truly demonstrate the breadth of his interests and capability.
“We will all miss him and we wish him well.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel