 | 'He is an outstanding parliamentarian with the knowledge and experience to provide a first class service for Moray. He is made for Moray and his track record should stand him in good stead with the voters. Indeed, Richard is already well-known in the area and so he will hit the ground running in this campaign.' Moray local party convener Gordon McDonald on Richard Lochhead MSP, 2 nd April 2006. |  |
Scottish Nationalist Party MSP Richard Lochhead is resigning from the Scottish parliament in order to stand for re-election in the Moray by-election.
The by-election, which takes place on April 27, was caused by the death last month of Margaret Ewing.
Lochhead was on Sunday backed by the local party to contest the vacant seat.
But as he is already an MSP on the North East regional list, he will have to step down in order to be elected.
The vacancy created on the North East list could, however, cause problems for the SNP.
Scotland on Sunday reported that the place would usually be filled by one of the other seven nationalist candidates who were on the region's list in the 2003 election.
But they are already MSPs, having been elected via constituencies rather than the list, or appear reluctant to enter the parliament.
Despite the problems, the SNP will be hoping to retain the seat.
"The SNP will not take any vote for granted in this election," said Lochhead.
"I hope my track record of hard work and fighting for the issues that matter the most to Moray will continue to earn the trust of the local electorate."
Moray local party convener Gordon McDonald added that "the SNP has now selected a first class candidate in Richard Lochhead to be our standard bearer".
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