AN SNP minister has become the latest SNP MSP to confirm he will stand down next year.
Higher and further education minister Graeme Dey told constituents it had been an "absolute privilege to serve" serving residents in Angus South but he will not seek re-election to Holyrood in 2026.
Dey, a former newspaper journalist, has been an MSP since 2011 and said he would step due to his age.
He said: "Were I to be successfully re-elected, serving a further five-year term would see me approaching my 69th birthday when the 2031 elections came around. And that’s not a commitment I feel able to make.
"Be assured however, I will continue to give of my absolute best as an MSP and government minister over the coming 14 months and playing my part in seeking to deliver an SNP victory here in Angus South and across Scotland in 2026.
"And beyond that I will remain a resolute campaigner for independence."
He added: "It has been my absolute privilege to serve the people of Angus South and represent the SNP in the Scottish Parliament for the past 14 years.
"And to have been afforded the honour of serving as a Scottish Government minister under three different first ministers is beyond anything I could have imagined when I was first elected in 2011.
"However, I have informed the Angus South Constituency Association of my decision not to seek the nomination to be the SNP candidate in 2026."
Currently, 13 MSPs have announced their intention to stand down, of which 11 are SNP representatives and one is a former SNP MSP, now sitting as an independent.
