Scottish Green MSP for Lothian, Alison Johnstone, has been named Presiding Officer this afternoon at The Scottish Parliament.
Scottish Greens co-leaders Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater said:“We congratulate Alison Johnstone on her election, and we are confident that she will be an even-handed moderator as Parliament addresses the pressing challenges that Scotland faces over the next five years.”
Only one nomination was received.
The Edinburgh Reporter offers our most sincere congratulations to Ms Johnstone.
She said: “I am very proud to be in this position. For those of you who don’t know I joined Scotland Forward in the late nineties. It is such a very important place for me. I then took a job with Robin Harper and it has been an absolute privilege to be a Green MSP over the years.
“Here today I have been afforded a great opportunity and a great privilege. We face various challenges. We are just coming out of the pandemic and it is a challenging time for us all. It is the duty of parliament to make sure that everyone in Scotland has the best lives they can. I want to encourage a culture of open debate.
She mentioned that there are more women, some disabled people and more from all sorts of backgrounds in the Holyrood Chamber. But she said: “I think we need to get to a point where we mirror those in our streets and our neighbourhoods.”
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