McLeish to quit parliament at next elections

Published on Friday 6 September 2002 01:00

HENRY McLeish, the former first minister, announced yesterday that he is to stand down from the Scottish Parliament at the elections in May next year.

His decision signals the end of a political career which saw the former professional footballer win the top job in Scottish politics, only to resign in disgrace a year later.

Mr McLeish had been expected to stand down, but took his parliamentary colleagues by surprise with the timing of the announcement; they rarely have any contact with him.

Labour leaders responded with sympathy, but in private many MSPs were extremely relieved. The party leadership had made no secret of its embarrassment at Mr McLeish’s continuing presence as an MSP, failing to endorse his candidacy for next year’s elections and approving thinly veiled attacks on him in the media.

But some of Mr McLeish’s allies expressed their anger at his treatment, with one MSP saying that some in the party "should take a good hard look at themselves" for failing to stand by him.

Mr McLeish’s career was over after he resigned at the height of the so-called "officegate" affair last November, admitting he had wrongly claimed 36,000 in office allowances from the taxpayer.

His decision yesterday that he will not stand as the Labour candidate in Central Fife paves the way for a furious battle for the safe Labour seat, with Fife Council’s Labour leader, Christine May and John MacDougall, the current MP for Central Fife, the frontrunners.

Mr McLeish is expected to spend at least part of his time lecturing on political science in Oklahoma, in the US.

Jack McConnell, who succeeded Mr McLeish as First Minister, said yesterday: "This must have been a very difficult personal decision."