Angus MacDonald to step down as MSP

The Falkirk East member will have served 10 years at Holyrood by the time he steps down in May 2021

Angus MacDonald will retire at the next Scottish election, the SNP MSP has confirmed. 

The Falkirk East member will have served 10 years at Holyrood by the time he steps down in May 2021.

MacDonald said it was time to "return to [his] roots in the Western Isles to explore other opportunities."

He was first elected to Falkirk District Council in 1992 and became a member of Falkirk Council following a by-election in December 2004, joining the SNP/Independent Administration controlling Falkirk Council at the time.

He was subsequently elected to the Scottish Parliament in the SNP’s landslide victory in 2011.

Making the announcement in Grangemouth, MacDonald said: “It has been an enormous honour and privilege to serve the people of Grangemouth at Council level, with the subsequent pinnacle of that honour representing Falkirk East in the Scottish Parliament for the past nine years. I now feel, however, it is time to move on, and return to my roots in the Western Isles to explore other opportunities.

“I would wish to place on record my thanks to my constituents for their continued support. I have looked at every issue with Falkirk district first and foremost in my mind, and I hope my constituents agree I have come to the right conclusions.

“Of course, the requirement of an MSP to get results for constituents is not possible without the help and support of a dedicated team of caseworkers and researchers. I have been lucky to have a first-class team working for me in my constituency office in Grangemouth, and I am indebted to them for the professional ethos and commitment they have shown collectively over the past nine years. The job simply couldn’t be done without them. I have had one of the busiest constituency offices in the country and we have always striven to secure positive results for everyone that has contacted me for help or assistance.

“Finally, I leave the post when the SNP is riding high in the polls. It gives me confidence that the new Scottish Government formed after the Holyrood election next May will ensure Scotland is in safe, competent hands, and I will watch from afar as we move towards an independent nation, a goal I have sought since my teens and throughout my political career.

“I wish my constituents in Falkirk East all the best for the future, and I will watch developments in the constituency closely. The people of Falkirk district will always have a special place in my heart, and I will miss representing them at national level a great deal.

“For the next 10 months, however, it will be business as usual, or as usual as it can be, in the constituency and in Parliament, and my office will remain open for assistance and enquiries until Parliament prorogues for the Holyrood election in the Spring.”