LD 408 Final Day

The final day in any campaign is always hectic.   There is one last place you need to go, one last street you need to visit, one last leaflet that has to be distributed .   

I have blipped the final day of two campaigns  (here and here ) when I was the candidate but today is different for a number of reasons.

Firstly I am not the candidate, so all those mixed emotions and urgencies are being felt by my replacement as the SNP contender in Argyll & Bute,  Jenni Minto whose campaign car sticker I feature in my photograph. 

Secondly today is also the first time since the early morning of the 4th of May 2007 when I have not been an MSP as Parliament formally dissolved just after midnight this morning and of course I had also served four years from 1999 to 2003, which themselves followed on from five years as the SNP's first full time CEO.   

Usually  dissolution takes place  when the Parliament rises for the election  and technically there are then no MSPs from then until the election has taken place though existing MSPs continue to be paid as such and keep their offices and staff.  However this time, because of COVID and what was seen as a possible need to reconvene if there was any doubt about the election (in a resurgence of the virus for example),  dissolution was replaced by what has been called an election recess.    That has limited what sitting MSPs can do (so as not to give them any advantage) until today when they ceased their role, as I have now done.

So my out of office message now says that I have  retired as an MSP .  However I continue  as a Minister until replaced (because of legal requirements).  

Not that it seems to be very different so far.   On this first day of retirement I have already read some urgent papers, done an interview about independence and will shortly take part in a four nations Governmental meeting about the pandemic though I did manage to have a longer lunch than usual, sitting in the sunshine with friends.  

Meanwhile Jenni Minto is out on the campaign trail,  making sure that all those supporters letters are going through letter boxes .   Best to her for tomorrow.