 | 'Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Mary Scanlon has resigned her seat in the Scottish Parliament to gamble on capturing Moray for the Tories.' Iain Ramage in the Press & Journal, 28 th March 2006. |  |
| 'Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Mary Scanlon has resigned her seat in the Scottish Parliament to gamble on capturing Moray for the Tories.' Iain Ramage in the Press & Journal, 28 th March 2006. | |
Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Mary Scanlon has resigned her seat in the Scottish Parliament to gamble on capturing Moray for the Tories.
Ms Scanlon will fight the forthcoming by-election in the neighbouring constituency - a seat left vacant by the death of her friend, Margaret Ewing.
She told the Press and Journal that she had regarded the Nationalist MSP who died last week at the age of 60 as something of a role model.
Ms Scanlon, who had already been named the Conservatives' choice for contesting Moray at next May's Scottish Parliament elections, said she had pledged a commitment to the constituency and wanted to see it through.
Unlike Westminster and Europe, the rules of the Holyrood Parliament left her no choice but to stand down as a list MP in order to challenge for a different constituency.
"It's been a difficult decision to resign from a job that I love and am totally committed to," she said.
"The way forward for the Conservative Party is obviously to win seats like Moray, which were once traditional Conservative seats."
Ms Scanlon said her excitement was tinged with sadness with the loss of a friend and colleague. She said: "The weekend was very distressing for everyone who knew Margaret. She was a genuine and deeply caring woman and I, along with the people of Moray, will miss her. She was a very good friend of mine.
"Now we have to reflect on the sad reality that there will have to be a by-election in Moray to find Margaret's replacement.
"This has been a difficult decision, not least because I risk losing my job as an MSP. However, I am totally committed to the people of Moray, and I want to give them the opportunity to choose a strong local voice to replace Margaret.
"I have admired Margaret's abilities in dealing with people over the 20 or so years she represented Moray, and in many ways I have tried to model myself on her."
"And if I can do as good a job as Margaret, the people of Moray would not regret choosing me as her successor. The difficult thing is to hand in a resignation."
Ms Scanlon's formal selection as Conservative candidate for Moray will take place tomorrow night in Elgin.
Her job as a Tory list MSP for Highlands and Islands will be offered to Dave Petrie, the party's second preferred candidate for the constituency.
Return to home page