All change for our Highland Labour MSPs
It's all change for Scottish Labour's long-serving Highland MSPs David Stewart and Rhoda Grant.
Mr Stewart will be retiring on May 5, the day before the Holyrood election.
Meanwhile his colleague Mrs Grant is to get a new role in the campaign.
She will move from Justice to Rural Economy and Tourism
Anas Sarwar today unveiled his campaign cabinet to lead Scottish Labour into the forthcoming poll.
He has appointed MSPs and party candidates to key posts, reflecting that there are less than 10 weeks until voters are scheduled to mark their crosses.
Protecting and creating jobs will be at the heart of the party’s election campaign, the leader said, and Monica Lennon has been appointed to lead on that front as Scottish Labour’s economy and fair work spokesperson.
Amid the ongoing pandemic, deputy leader Jackie Baillie will be spokesperson for health and social care.
New appointments to the cabinet include North East Scotland candidate Michael Marra as education spokesperson, and Glasgow candidate Pam Duncan-Glancy as social security spokesperson.
Shadow Scottish Secretary Ian Murray and Scottish Labour group chair Mark Griffin will both attend the Campaign Cabinet.
Mr Sarwar has also made additional spokespeople appointments, including Claudia Beamish who has been named as COP26 spokesperson to lead the party’s engagement with environmental groups and other organisations in the run-up to November’s vital summit in Glasgow: “We are only weeks away from the Holyrood election and we have built a team from both the Parliament and our wider movement for our campaign cabinet.
“I am determined to bring our party together and harness all our talent, so that together we lead Scottish Labour into this contest with a firm focus on rebuilding our country.
“In the coming weeks we will outline our vision for Scotland, with an NHS restart plan, a catch-up plan for our children, and a real vision for jobs – for now, and for the future.
“We will focus on what unites our country - not what divides it – because by working together we can build a better future for Scotland.”