For the avoidance of doubt, I announce that I have written to SNP Edinburgh Northern and Leith Constituency Association to confirm that I will be seeking to be selected again as the SNP’s candidate for the Edinburgh Northern and Leith Constituency for the May 2021 Scottish Parliament elections.
It has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life to represent my home area in the Scottish Parliament since 2016, and to serve in the Scottish Government as a Minister since 2018.
Since being elected as the first SNP MSP for the constituency, I have worked tirelessly and with passion to serve all of the diverse communities of Edinburgh Northern and Leith. I have played a leading role in resolving significant issues in the constituency, like the terrible threatened eviction of Lorne Street residents and the inspiring and successful Save Leith Walk campaign. I have also led on challenging issues like tackling motorbike crime in the north of the city, securing investment in the Seafield Waste Water Treatment Works, arranging effective management of the Water of Leith Basins, working to bring more affordable housing to our area, and pushing for action to better regulate short-term letting – and, working with others, I am proud to have achieved meaningful progress on these and many other issues. My team and I have also helped thousands of individual constituents and I have supported numerous local organisations and businesses in a multitude of ways.
In Holyrood I have been proud to help build a fairer, internationalist, more progressive Scotland, at first as a backbencher and then serving as Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development and now as Minister for Public Finance and Migration.
There is more to do in many, many ways and this will be a crucial election for achieving independence, at a difficult time because of the ongoing coronavirus crisis and Brexit. Therefore, building on my experience locally and my contribution nationally, I am putting my name forward again to the SNP as a prospective parliamentary candidate to contest the 2021 election, and to seek re-election to serve the people of Edinburgh Northern and Leith with strength, dedication and determination for another term – committed to continuing to contribute as much as I can to building a fairer society, to tackling climate change, and to securing a positive future for Scotland as an independent, successful, European country.
