 | 'I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again.' Mohammed Sarwar, Labour MP for Glasgow Central, 21 st June 2007. |  |
| 'I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again.' Mohammed Sarwar, Labour MP for Glasgow Central, 21 st June 2007. | |
Five of Scotland's 59 MPs (Four Labour and one Scottish National Party) have announced that they will be retiring at the next Westminster election. They are:
| MP | Rosemary McKenna CBE |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Cumbernauld & Kilsyth 1997 - | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Foreign Office 1999 - 2001 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Councillor 1984 - 1996 Leader of Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council 1988 - 1992 Provost of Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Council 1994 - 1996 President of COSLA 1994 - 1996 | |
| MP | Rt Hon Dr John Reid |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Motherwell North 1983 -1997 Hamilton North & Bellshill 1997 - 2005 Aidrie &: Shotts 2005 - | |
| Positions | Minister of State for Defence 1997 -1998 Minister of State for the Environment 1998 - 1999 Secretary of State for Scotland 1999 - 2001 Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 2001 - 2002 Minister Without Portfolio (Cabinet Minister) & Labour Chairman 2002 - 2003 Leader of the House of Commons 2003 Secretary of State for Health 2003 - 2005 Secretary of State for Defence 2005 - 2006 Secretary of State for Home Affairs 2006 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Alex Salmond |  |
| Party | Scottish National Party | |
| Constituency | Banff & Buchan 1987 - | |
| Positions | Scottish National Party National Convenor 1990 - 2000 & 2004 - SNP Group leader at Westminster 2001 - 2007 | |
| Career in other parliaments | MSP for Banff & Buchan 1999 - 2001 MSP for Gordon 2007 - First Minister of Scotland 2007 - | |
| MP | Mohammed Sarwar |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Glasgow Govan 1997 - 2005 Glasgow Central 2005 - | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Dr Gavin Strang |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency |
Edinburgh East 1970 - 1997 Edinburgh East & Musselburgh 1997 - 2005 Edinburgh East 2005 - | |
| Positions | Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Energy March - October 1974 Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at MAAF October 1974 - 1979 Secretary of State for Transport 1997 - 1998 | |
| Career in other parliaments | ||
| MP | Rt Hon Robin Cook |  |
|---|---|---|
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Edinburgh Central February 1974 - 1983 Livingston 1983 - 6 th August 2005 (died) | |
| Positions | Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs, 1997 - 2001 Leader of the House of Commons, 2001 - 2003 | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Edinburgh Councillor 1971 - 1974 | |
| MP | John MacDougall |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Central Fife 2001 - 2005 Glenrothes 2005 - 13 th August 2008 (died) | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Fife Councillor 1982 - 2001 Leader of Fife Council - 1992 - 2001 | |
| MP | David Marshall |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Glasgow Shettleston 1979 - 2005 Glasgow East 2005 - 30 th June 2008 (resigned) | |
| Positions | ||
| Career in other parliaments and councils | Glasgow Corporation - 1974 Glasgow District Council 1974 - 1979 | |
| MP | Rachel Squire |  |
| Party | Labour | |
| Constituency | Dunfermline West 1992 - 2005 Dunfermline & West Fife 2005 - 5 th January 2006 (died) | |
| Positions | Parliamentary private secretary to Education secretaries Stephen Byers and then Estelle Morris | |
| Career in other parliaments and councils | ||
Mohammed Sarwar, the 54-year-old Labour MP for Glasgow Central, has announced he is to stand down from Westminster at the next General Election.
The father-of-four was elected as the MP for the former Govan ward in 1997 and was Britain's first Muslim MP.
Mr Sarwar told BBC Scotland he felt it was time to move on and focus more of his energies on his charity work.
He said it had made him very proud to represent his constituents and said they had shown him great support.
Mr Sarwar, a retail millionaire, also promised to keep working to improve his local community even when he is no longer serving as the area's MP.
He told the Daily Record: "I think it's time to move on. I'll be an MP for the next two years but I am not seeking re-selection to stand again."
Controversy
Mr Sarwar said that Gordon Brown would be an "excellent" Prime Minister.
The MP is planning to concentrate on charity projects in Scotland and his native Pakistan.
His political career has, however, been dogged by controversy since he won a bitter selection battle against Mike Watson, the former MP for Glasgow Central.
Soon after his election, he was suspended from the parliamentary Labour party over allegations of bribing political opponents, and stood trial for fraud.
He was acquitted in March 1999 and restored to the Parliamentary Labour Party.
He has concentrated on constituency issues, and has become one of the leading Commons advocates of the Scottish ship-building industry.
Rosemary McKenna, one of Tony Blair's most loyal supporters at Westminster, intends to step down as the MP for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East at the next General Election, she informed her local party today.
The former teacher, 66, told The Herald that she had decided it was "time to give up" and let a new generation take charge. "I've had a wonderful life in politics but it's time for me to go. I thought that 40 years in politics was long enough. It's time to allow someone else to take up the baton."
Her constituency is one the Scottish Nationalists would dearly love to grab from Labour's clutches but with a majority of 11,562 at the last General Election, it is difficult to see them making any headway.
It is thought that the local Labour Party will choose the person to succeed Ms McKenna as its parliamentary candidate in the next six weeks or so. One name in the frame is that of Greg McClymont, 36, raised locally, who is a Fellow and politics lecturer at Oxford University and was a speech writer for John Reid, the former Home Secretary.
As boundary changes meant a reduction in Scottish MPs at the 2005 General Election, there were suggestions before that poll that Ms McKenna might step down as Cumbernauld and Kilsyth's MP to make way for Mr Reid whose constituency disappeared under the shake-up. It was suggested Ms McKenna was offered a peerage, but declined. In the end, Mr Reid took over Airdrie and Shotts, the former constituency of Helen Liddell, who left Westminster to become Britain's High Commissioner in Australia.
The daughter of a publican and a shopkeeper, Ms McKenna was educated in Glasgow and for 20 years from the 1970s was a primary school teacher. She began her involvement in politics in the late 1960s and for 12 years was on Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council, becoming provost and later leader. She went on to become president of Cosla, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities.
Ms McKenna entered Westminster in Labour's historic landslide of 1997 and was a Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Foreign Office for three years. She has sat on several Commons committees, most notably that for Culture, Media and Sport, of which she is still a member.
She said the highlight of her Westminster career was its very beginning. "It has to be May 1997. It was a new dawn. Over the years, I have seen the towns of Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch change. I now stand outside supermarkets and see the prosperity among the people compared to 1997. This community has virtually no serious unemployment whatsoever. In 1997, there were third-generation children in families that never worked. That's been eradicated. That to me is the greatest thing we have done."
Showing loyalty to the former Prime Minister, Ms McKenna said her low point at Westminster was the way "the media hounded Tony Blair out of office". As for his successor, she said Gordon Brown had had "a fantastic start" and would prove to be "a very successful Prime Minister".
Beyond Westminster, Ms McKenna said she had no intention of going to the Lords but would "love to do something with broadcasting", a particular interest, and is looking forward to spending more time with her family, her four children and six grandchildren.
As for saying farewell to the Commons, she added: "I'll miss being at the heart of decision-making but I promised myself I would not be one of those people shuffling about the place in my 70s."
LABOUR'S "attack dog", Dr John Reid, the former Home Secretary, has announced that he will quit Westminster at the next general election.
After 20 years as a Labour MP, Reid informed his Airdrie and Shotts constituency party that he would not be seeking re-election.
The 60-year-old stood down from the Cabinet alongside Tony Blair at the end of June. The MP, who gained a reputation as a formidable and pugnacious political heavyweight, had a decade-long ministerial career, taking in nine different jobs.
The last and most senior of his Government appointments was Home Secretary, which he held for just over a year.
Reid was famously labelled Labour's "attack dog" by Jeremy Paxman during a televised interview in 2005.
The remark sparked a bitter spat, with the Bellshill-born politician later referring to the pundit as a "West London snob" and Paxman claiming that Reid had a chip on his shoulder.
The MP told a meeting of Labour party members in his constituency on Friday night that it was time for him to move on.
In a letter to party members, Reid, a one-time Marxist turned Blairite, said:
"I believe this is now an appropriate time for me to indicate my intention to stand down as an MP at the next general election.
"I remain enormously grateful for your continuing support, confidence and advice, but it is now time to move on."
The Stirling University graduate said he would "continue to support the Labour Government in any way I can".
The exact timing of Reid's departure from the Commons depends on when Prime Minister Gordon Brown decides to call an election.
Brian Brady, chairman of Labour's Airdrie and Shotts constituency party, said members were disappointed, but they understood why he wanted to call it a day. "I would like to thank him for all he has done for the party nationally and locally."
EDINBURGH'S longest-serving MP is to stand down at the next general election.
Gavin Strang, who has represented Edinburgh East since 1970, said if he fought another election he would still be in the Commons when he was 70.
He told local party members of his decision yesterday. He said: "Had there been an election this year, I would have been a candidate. But I have been the MP for Edinburgh East for 37 years and I shall be 65 next year.
"Now we know the next general election will not be held until 2009 or 2010 it means I would still be in the House of Commons when I was 70 so I have decided not to stand again."
Dr Strang served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers - Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
But he was also ready to rebel when he thought it necessary, voting against the invasion of Iraq and the replacement of Trident.
He was first elected to the Commons at the age of 26 in the election which saw Ted Heath become Tory Prime Minister. After Labour won back power in 1974, Dr Strang served as a junior minister first at Energy and then at Agriculture.
He was an elected member of Labour's shadow cabinet for many years while the party was in opposition during the 1980s and 1990s. And when Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997, Dr Strang served as Transport Minister for 15 months before being axed in the first reshuffle. At the height of the Aids crisis in Edinburgh in the 1980s, he successfully introduced legislation at Westminster requiring health boards to publish statistics and provide certain care.
Since veteran Labour MP Tam Dalyell retired from his Linlithgow seat in 2005, Dr Strang has been Scotland's longest serving MP. He said he had been thinking for a long time about when to stand down, but felt this was the right moment to make his plan clear.
He said: "It gives the constituency party time to select a new candidate and for that candidate to get him or herself known in the constituency. That's they key reason I decided to announce my decision now.
"It has been a great privilege to represent an Edinburgh constituency in the Commons."
And he said his decision to retire was no reflection on the Government's current troubles.
He said: "All governments have difficult periods, but the Labour party has a great record in government. Unemployment is at a record low, living standards have risen every year, we have spent large amounts of extra money on health and education."
Scotland's longest-serving MP has changed his mind about retiring at the next General Election.
Dr Gavin Strang indicated last year that he was planning to stand down in Edinburgh East but now says he has changed his mind under pressure from Labour Party activists and constituents.
Mr Strang, 64, has represented the seat for 38 years, during which time he served as a minister under Prime Ministers Wilson, Callaghan and Blair. A left-winger who was never in tune with the New Labour project, there would have been times when the party hierarchy would have been happy to see him go, but the SNP took the equivalent seat at the Holyrood election last May and many will see the veteran as best-placed to hold on to it at the next General Election.
VETERAN city MP Gavin Strang, who announced last year he would retire at the next election, has decided not to quit the Commons after all.
The 64-year-old former Cabinet minister, who has represented Edinburgh East for the past 38 years, said he had reflected again on his position and was now "in it for the long haul". He said: "I will be telling Edinburgh East Labour party members at local party meetings over the next month that I will be standing in Edinburgh East at the next general election."
Dr Strang, now Scotland's longest-serving MP, was first elected to the Commons at the age of 26 and served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers Ð Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
He had already been unanimously reselected before he announced in November that he planned to retire.
He said at the time he would have stood again if there had been an election last October, as many expected. But once it became clear there would not be an election for some time, he felt the need to make an early decision on his future and allow plenty time for a new candidate to build up a campaign.
But today Dr Strang said it had been a difficult decision and since then he had reflected again on his position.
He said: "I'm 64 and it was not unreasonable to want to consider how much longer I wanted to be a full-time politician. I'm now there for the long haul.
"I'm now 100 per cent sure that I want to continue to represent Edinburgh East.
"I had a lot of people ask me to reconsider my original decision, people I don't know stopping me in the street as well as Labour party members both in Edinburgh East and outside.
"But in the end the decision can only be made by one person."
No formal moves had begun to select a successor to Dr Strang, but several potential candidates had emerged, including former Lord Provost Lesley Hinds, constituency chairman Mike Robb and ex-students' leader Rami Okasha.
Edinburgh East has traditionally been Labour's safest seat in the Capital and Dr Strang had a majority of 6202 at the last general election in 2005.
But at last year's Holyrood elections, the equivalent seat was seized by the SNP's Kenny MacAskill and the Nationalists have already selected former Labour councillor George Kerevan, now associate editor of The Scotsman, as their candidate for Westminster.
Dr Strang said: "I'm confident we will hold Edinburgh East, but clearly we are in challenging times for the Labour Party at the moment. That makes me all the more up for the campaign."
EDINBURGH East Labour MP Gavin Strang today performed another U-turn on his political future and announced he would not, after all, stand at the next general election.
He said he did not have the "mental stamina" for another full term at Westminster.
Dr Strang, who was first elected to the House of Commons in 1970, announced last November he planned to stand down at the next election, pointing out if he stayed on he could still be an MP at 70.
But in March he changed his mind and said he would seek re-election, declaring he was "in it for the long haul". "I'm now 100 per cent sure that I want to continue to represent Edinburgh East," he said at the time.
But today he announced another change of heart. He said: "I told a meeting of Labour Party members in Portobello last night I do not have the mental stamina to be an MP for another six or seven years. I will not be a candidate at the next general election."
Dr Strang, now Scotland's longest serving MP, served as a minister under three Labour Prime Ministers- Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan and Tony Blair.
And he said quitting the Commons was a big decision.
He said: "It's a great privilege to be an MP. I thought I could carry on for another parliament, assuming I was re-elected, but now I realise I don't feel up to that.
"I'm 65 next month and I have been an MP for 38 years.
"It's a very personal decision. One has only one life and I would like to spend part of it not travelling up and down to London.
"That's final this time."
Dr Strang had a majority of 6202 in Edinburgh East at the last general election in 2005.
But in last year's Scottish Parliament elections, the equivalent constituency, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh, was snatched by the SNP's Kenny MacAskill after the Labour MSP Susan Deacon decided to stand down.
And the Nationalists are expected to make the seat one of their top targets at the Westminster election, expected in two years' time.
The SNP has already selected George Kerevan, a one-time Labour councillor in Edinburgh and now an associate editor of The Scotsman, as its candidate.
But Dr Strang said he was confident Labour could retain the seat. He said: "If you look at the figures, the SNP were third last time and Labour had more than twice the SNP vote."
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