Stirling’s MSP Evelyn Tweed has announced that she is standing down at the next Scottish Parliament elections in 2026 after serving just one term at Holyrood.
The former Trossachs and Teith councillor released a statement on Wednesday evening confirming her decision – but said she would be continuing to represent her constituents meantime.
She said: “I have informed my branch that I have not sought reselection for the Stirling seat and have decided to stand down at the 2026 Holyrood election to embrace new opportunities.
“It has been an immense privilege to service – first as the councillor for the Trossachs and Teith ward of Stirling Council and then as the constituency MSP for Stirling since 2021.
“I entered politics because I believe in Scottish independence, and I wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. When I stand down, I will have dedicated over 35 years to public service – first as a housing professional and then as an elected representative.
“I passionately believe that Scotland will be an independent country.
“I would like to thank my family and friends for their unwavering love and support during this journey and would also like to thak the local SNP members, colleagues and my amazing staff team who have helped me over the years and my constituents for putting their trust in me. This has meant the world to me.
“Though my time in this role is coming to an end, my commitment to serving my constituents will remain as strong as ever until I stand down.”
Ms Tweed retained the seat for the SNP in the 2021 Holyrood elections following Bruce Crawford’s decision to retire after 18 years in the Scottish Parliament.
At that time she described feeling “totally honoured” as she set foot inside the Scottish Parliament for the first time since becoming Stirling’s new MSP.
She held the constituency for the SNP after securing 19,882 votes at the ballot box, ahead of Dean Lockhart (Con) on 12,987, Chris Kane (Lab) on 6,556 and Fayzan Rehman (LibDem) on 1,466.
The majority of 6,895 represented a 1.39 per cent swing from SNP to the Conservatives amidst a turnout of 40,891 (68.97 per cent).
After the result was announced at the count in The Peak leisure centre, Ms Tweed said: “I know the hard work starts now and there is lots of work to do.
“We have the pandemic to get through which is a key priority. A lot of local people and businesses have been hit hard.
“I’m very much someone who is keen to work across party lines to get this done.”