Holyrood needs to be family friendly. We have to do more
– Kate Forbes MSP
Minister says MSPs from rural areas find work difficult Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has said Holyrood could be made more familyfriendly for MSPs from outside the Central Belt.
She raised concerns after two women MSPs decided to stand down to improve their work-life balance.
The comments come after it was announced both SNP MSP Gail Ross and Communities
Secretary Aileen Campbell would not stand in next year’s election.
The Finance Secretary claimed the parliament, which has been described as “family friendly”, was only so for those who live in central Scotland.
She said: “It’s not family friendly for those who cannot get home on a daily basis. I think there’s more that we can do.”
Ms Forbes, whose portfolio also includes the digital brief, said more should be done to use technology to benefit those in more rural constituencies.
Both Ms Campbell and Ms Ross – who represents a constituency in the Highlands next to the Finance Secretary’s – also stressed their desire to spend more time with their families. Long stays in Edinburgh are needed when Holyrood sits on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, requiring MSPs to be away from home.
Ms Forbes, who represents Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, one of the most northerly constituencies in Scotland, said: “The hardest challenge in politics is the travel, the lack of routine – and I know that’s the same for other jobs as well.
“It takes me four and a half hours to get home every week and that doesn’t include the travel across the constituency, which is huge – larger than the country of Jamaica.”
Ms Forbes also said women do not consider politics as a career or are forced to leave because of verbal abuse.
“The hardest thing for women in politics is the vitriol on social media and elsewhere,” she said.