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Former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray to quit Holyrood

BBC Iain GrayBBC

Former Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray is to stand down from Holyrood at the next election in 2021.

The East Lothian MSP was first elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and served in Jack McConnell's government.

He took over from Wendy Alexander as Scottish Labour leader in 2008, but stepped down following the party's poor performance in the 2011 elections.

Mr Gray will join other prominent MSPs including Mike Russell and Ruth Davidson in leaving Holyrood in 2021.

Parties have been pressing ahead with their candidate selection processes for the election despite the coronavirus pandemic, although some local contests have been delayed.

In a statement posted online, Mr Gray said he would be "almost 69 by the end of the next parliament" and that "after more than 20 years at the frontline of Scottish politics, next year is the right time for me to step aside".

He said he "really, genuinely" wanted to spend more time with his family, including his wife and seven grandchildren.

PA Media Gray and McLetchiePA Media
Iain Gray beat David McLetchie in Edinburgh Pentlands in 1999 - but lost the seat to him in 2003

A former aid worker and teacher, Mr Gray was elected to the first devolved parliament in 1999 as MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands and served as social justice minister then as minister for enterprise and transport.

He lost his seat to Scottish Conservative leader David McLetchie in 2003, and went to Westminster to work as a special advisor to then Scotland Office minister Alistair Darling.

He returned to Holyrood as MSP for East Lothian in 2007 and became Scottish Labour leader the following year.

However he stood down following the party's poor showing in the 2011 election, which saw the SNP win an unprecedented outright majority at Holyrood. The Labour leader famously sought refuge in a sandwich shop after being targeted by protestors while campaigning in Glasgow.

He retained his seat in East Lothian and was briefly acting party leader in 2015 after Jim Murphy's resignation, and is currently Labour's education spokesman at Holyrood.

The next Holyrood election is to be held on Thursday 6 May 2021. A series of high-profile MSPs - including cabinet secretaries Mike Russell and Aileen Campbell, and former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson - have announced they will not be standing.