PRESSURE COOKER PARLY
Strain on family life and net trolls to blame as minister and MSP quit
A senior Snp minister is to quit, citing the pressure of office on family life.
Aileen Campbell, 39, who is Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government, is the second high- prof i le fema le Nationalist to announce she’ll stand down to spend time with her children.
MSP Gai l Ross has blamed Holyrood’s
refusal to introduce family-friendly reforms for her decision.
She also revealed she has been forced to carry a panic alarm because of online threats.
Campbell – who has two sons, Angus, nine, and Crawford, five, with husband Fraser – has told of her feelings of “imposter syndrome” after being elected in 2007.
The Clydesdale MSP has said she won’t stand in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election in a bid to achieve a
“better work-life balance”. She added: “My husband and I are very fortunate – we have managed to find ways for me to do my job and have a family at the same time.
“But there’s no getting away from the fact that the job, while immensely rewarding, is demanding in terms of pressure and time.
“I hope in future I can spend more time with my boys at home.
“After much consideration, now feels like a good time to prepare myself for taking a step back from frontline party politics and government.
“Once I stand down, I look forward to new challenges and, I hope, a better work-life balance.”
Campbell was first elected a list member for the South of Scotland in 2007 before returning as the MSP for Clydesdale in the 2011 election.
She has been Minister for Children and Young People, and Minister for Public Health and Sport.
Ruth Davidson quit as leader of the Scottish Conservatives last year to spend more time with her partner Jen Wilson and baby son Finn.
She said: “For all Holyrood’s claims to be the most family-friendly Parliament in the world, it is still a more than full-time job and sometimes you just want to spend more time with your kids.”