Peers and rivals pay their respect to outgoing MSP
FRASER WILSON
Opposition politicians have shown their respect for Linda Fabiani as she steps away from politics.
We told you earlier this month how the SNP representative announced she was to step down from frontline politics after 20 years as an MSP.
Having served her community for over two decades, she told the News she would not be seeking re-selection ahead of next year’s Holyrood elections.
Now her peers, and often rivals in Parliament, have united in wishing her well for the future.
Conservative list MSP, Graham Simspon, told the News: “I have known Linda for a long time and she is one of those people who, although we disagree on many national policies, I get along with on a personal level.
“I am always talking to her about local issues and I can’t think of anything locally where we have disagreed. We have worked together on many things and that is as it should be.
“Linda is a diligent MSP who works hard for her constituents and she is very popular. She will be missed hugely in the town.
“Whoever is lucky enough to be elected as East Kilbride’s MSP next year will have a very hard act to follow.”
Having joined the SNP in 1990, Linda worked in campaigns for the party across Scotland, first standing for election to the Scottish Parliament in1999.
She was elected as a list MSP for Central Scotland, a position she held for three terms before spearheading a SNP victory over Labour in 2011 for the East Kilbride seat, holding on to it in the 2016 elections.
From 2007 to 2009 she served as Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture in the first ever SNP Government.
In a decorated career, Linda is currently Deputy Presiding Officer at Holyrood and is chairing the Alex Salmond inquiry, and is seen as a role model to many women politicians.
Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon added: “I wish Linda all the best in her retirement from Holyrood.
“As MSPs from different political parties, there is always many issues to disagree on, but I have also often found common ground with Linda on other issues – especially in her work fighting for the rights of survivors of domestic abuse.
“I also pay tribute to her work in raising awareness of the role of Rolls-Royce factory workers who defied Pinochet during the 1970s, which was featured in the ‘Nae Pasaran’ film in recent years.
“Linda is a warm and engaging personality in Parliament and as a Deputy Presiding Officer she has been firm but fair.
“Having been an MSP since 1999, the loss of her experience will be felt in the Scottish Parliament and I wish her luck for the future.”
Eastwood MSP and former Scottish Conservative leader, Jackson Carlaw, called Linda’s retirment a “significant moment” in Scottish politics.
He told the News: “As one of an increasingly reducing number of the original 1999 intake, Linda Fabiani’s retirement from Holyrood next May is a significant moment.
“Although opponents, I have always enjoyed a constructive relationship with Linda and I wish her well and every happiness in the future.”
Speaking exclusively with the News earlier this month, Linda thanked the people of East Kilbride for “allowing” her “the honour of being the town’s representative over such a historic period”.
She and her husband Duncan intend to travel. However, she admits this may be limited because of COVID-19.
She added: “And campaigning for independence of course – that never stops.”