Scottish Tory Margaret Mitchell has announced her intention to stand down at the next Scottish Parliament election.
The Central Scotland MSP has made the decision after spending 17 years in the role.
She told the Advertiser: “When I first became an MSP in 2003, and up until the 2016 Scottish Parliament election, I was the only Conservative representing the Central Scotland region covering nine constituencies. During most of this time there were no North Lanarkshire Conservative councillors. Now I have two Conservative parliamentary colleagues and there is an eight-strong North Lanarkshire Council Conservative group.
“By the end of this session in 2021 I will have had the privilege of representing my Central Scotland constituents for 18 years and I thank you all for your support. However at the end of last year I made the huge decision that, having achieved most of the things I set out to do, I would not seek re-election in 2021.
“In doing so I am re-assured that I leave my party’s representation both at local government and parliamentary level in a much better place.”
