Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament

Presiding Officer
of the Scottish Parliament
Presiding Officer; of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Gaelic: Oifigear Riaghlaidh Pàrlamaid na h-Alba; Scots: Preses o the Scots Pairlament
	Logo used to represent the Scottish Parliament
	Incumbent; Alison Johnstone; since 13 May 2021
	Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body; Scottish Parliament
Style	Presiding Officer; (within Parliament); The Right Honourable; (formal);
Member of	Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body; Scottish Parliament
Seat	Edinburgh
Nominator	Scottish Parliament; (through secret exhaustive ballot voting)
Appointer	Scottish Parliament; (elected by)
Term length	Elected by the Scottish Parliament at the start of each session, and upon a vacancy
Inaugural holder	David Steel
Formation	1999
Deputy	Annabelle Ewing and; Liam McArthur[1]
Salary	£118,511 per annum (2023)[2]; (including £67,662 MSP salary)
Website	www.parliament.scot/about/how-parliament-works/parliament-organisations-groups-and-people/presiding-officer-and-deputy-presiding-officers

The presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament (Scottish Gaelic: Oifigear-Riaghlaidh, Scots: Preses[3]) is the speaker of the Scottish Parliament. The presiding officer is a member of the Scottish Parliament elected by the Scottish Parliament by means of an exhaustive ballot, and is ex officio the head of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The presiding officer is considered a figurehead of the Scottish Parliament and has an office in Queensberry House.

Appointments to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom are made by the monarch, although in practice they are made only on the advice of the UK government. To date all presiding officers have been appointed members of the Privy Council, and therefore entitled to use the style 'Right Honourable'.

The office of presiding officer was established by the Scotland Act 1998. The current presiding officer is Alison Johnstone, who was elected on 13 May 2021, following the 2021 Scottish Parliament election. She is the second woman to hold the office and the first former member of the Scottish Greens to do so.

Office

The presiding officer presides over the Parliament's debates, determining which members may speak, and maintains order during debate.[4] The presiding officer is expected to be strictly non-partisan, with some similarities in this respect to the tradition of the Speaker of the House of Commons. For this reason, they renounce all affiliation with their former political party for the duration of their term.[5] They do not take part in debate, or vote except to break ties. Even then, the convention is that when the presiding officer uses their tie-breaking vote, they do so in favour of advancing debate, but on final ballots, retaining the status quo. The presiding officer is also assisted in their duties by 2 deputies. They have the same powers as the presiding officer; they keep their party affiliation but remain impartial when presiding.

In 2006 the St Andrews Fund for Scots Heraldry commemorated the hosting of the Heraldic & Genealogical Congress in Scotland by commissioning a ceremonial robe for the presiding officer to wear, however as of May 2017, it appears no presiding officer has worn the robe.[6]

The Scottish National Party proposes that in the event of independence, the presiding officer's post be replaced with that of chancellor of Scotland. In addition to presiding over the Scottish Parliament, the chancellor would possess additional constitutional powers during the absence of the monarch from Scotland; chiefly, the chancellor should act in a role similar to a governor-general in the other Commonwealth realms.[7]

List of presiding officers

No.	Portrait	Name (birth and death) Constituency/Region	Term of office		Former party
1		Sir David Steel[lower-alpha 1] (1938–) MSP for Lothian	12 May 1999	7 May 2003		Scottish Liberal Democrats
2		George Reid (1939–) MSP for Ochil	7 May 2003	14 May 2007		Scottish National Party
3		Alex Fergusson (1949–2018) MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale	14 May 2007	11 May 2011		Scottish Conservatives
4		Tricia Marwick (1953–) MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes	11 May 2011	12 May 2016		Scottish National Party
5		Ken Macintosh (1962–) MSP for West Scotland	12 May 2016	13 May 2021		Scottish Labour
6		Alison Johnstone (1965–) MSP for Lothian	13 May 2021	Incumbent		Scottish Greens

Officially styled as The Lord Steel of Aikwood, but he was known as Sir David Steel in the Scottish Parliament.

List of deputy presiding officers

	Party	Constituency / Region		Party	Constituency / Region
Patricia Ferguson 12 May 1999 – 27 November 2001	Scottish Labour	Glasgow Maryhill	George Reid 12 May 1999 – 7 May 2003	Scottish National Party	Mid Scotland and Fife
Murray Tosh 29 November 2001 – 2 April 2007	Scottish Conservatives	South of Scotland (1999–2003) West of Scotland (2003–2007)	George Reid 12 May 1999 – 7 May 2003	Scottish National Party	Mid Scotland and Fife
Murray Tosh 29 November 2001 – 2 April 2007	Scottish Conservatives	South of Scotland (1999–2003) West of Scotland (2003–2007)	Trish Godman 7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011	Scottish Labour	West Renfrewshire
Alasdair Morgan 10 May 2007 – 22 March 2011	Scottish National Party	South of Scotland	Trish Godman 7 May 2003 – 22 March 2011		West Renfrewshire
John Scott 11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016	Scottish Conservatives	Ayr	Elaine Smith 11 May 2011 – 12 May 2016		Coatbridge and Chryston
Linda Fabiani 12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021	Scottish National Party	East Kilbride	Christine Grahame 12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021	Scottish National Party	Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
Linda Fabiani 12 May 2016 – 12 May 2021	Scottish National Party	East Kilbride	Lewis Macdonald (Interim) 1 April 2020 – 12 May 2021	Scottish Labour	North East Scotland
Annabelle Ewing[1] 14 May 2021 -	Scottish National Party	Cowdenbeath	Liam McArthur[1] 14 May 2021 -	Scottish Liberal Democrats	Orkney

Current presiding officer and deputy presiding officer

Position		Term started	Party	Constituency / Region
Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament	Alison Johnstone	13 May 2021	Scottish Greens (Suspended during term as Presiding Officer)	Lothian
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament	Annabelle Ewing	14 May 2021	Scottish National Party	Cowdenbeath
Deputy Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament	Liam McArthur	14 May 2021	Scottish Liberal Democrats	Orkney

List of elections

Presiding Officer elections			Votes received
Parliamentary term	Date	Candidates	1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round
1st Parliament	31 May 1999	Sir David Steel	82
1st Parliament	31 May 1999	George Reid	44
2nd Parliament	7 May 2003 [8]	George Reid	113
3rd Parliament	14 May 2007	Alex Fergusson	108
3rd Parliament	14 May 2007	Margo MacDonald	20
4th Parliament	11 May 2011[9]	Tricia Marwick	49	73
		Hugh Henry	45	56
		Christine Grahame	32	ELIMINATED
5th Parliament	12 May 2016[10]	Ken Macintosh	58	60	71
		Murdo Fraser	23	26	31
		Johann Lamont	23	26	26
		John Scott	17	15	ELIMINATED
		Elaine Smith	7	ELIMINATED
6th Parliament	13 May 2021[11]	Alison Johnstone	97

References

Davidson, Jenni (14 May 2021). "Scottish Parliament's deputy presiding officers elected after five-hour voting session". Holyrood. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
"MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.
"Your Scots Pairlament" (PDF). www.parliament.scot (in Scots). Scottish Parliament. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2020.
Black, Andrew (14 May 2007). "Q&A: Holyrood presiding officer". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2015.
"Former Scottish Parliament Presiding Officers on the devolution years". Holyrood. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
Cusack, Andrew (3 June 2010). "The Presiding Officer's Gown | andrewcusack.com". www.andrewcusack.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
Principles of the Constitution Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, at constitutionalcommission.org (.pdf file)
"Reid wins presiding officer role". 7 May 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
"SNP MSP Tricia Marwick elected presiding officer". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
"Ken Macintosh chosen as Holyrood presiding officer". BBC News. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
News, S. T. V. (13 May 2021). "Scottish Greens MSP elected as new Presiding Officer". STV News. Retrieved 7 April 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

External links

Official website

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[8] Officially styled as The Lord Steel of Aikwood, but he was known as Sir David Steel in the Scottish Parliament.

[holyrood-mag-2021-dpo-1] Davidson, Jenni (14 May 2021). "Scottish Parliament's deputy presiding officers elected after five-hour voting session". Holyrood. Edinburgh. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

[2] "MSP salaries". parliament.scot. The Scottish Parliament. 5 April 2023.

[3] "Your Scots Pairlament" (PDF). www.parliament.scot (in Scots). Scottish Parliament. p. 9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 November 2020.

[4] Black, Andrew (14 May 2007). "Q&A: Holyrood presiding officer". BBC News. BBC. Archived from the original on 26 August 2007. Retrieved 17 January 2015.

[5] "Former Scottish Parliament Presiding Officers on the devolution years". Holyrood. 13 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2021.

[6] Cusack, Andrew (3 June 2010). "The Presiding Officer's Gown | andrewcusack.com". www.andrewcusack.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[7] Principles of the Constitution Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, at constitutionalcommission.org (.pdf file)

[9] "Reid wins presiding officer role". 7 May 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2023.

[10] "SNP MSP Tricia Marwick elected presiding officer". BBC News. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2023.

[11] "Ken Macintosh chosen as Holyrood presiding officer". BBC News. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 7 April 2023.

[12] News, S. T. V. (13 May 2021). "Scottish Greens MSP elected as new Presiding Officer". STV News. Retrieved 7 April 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

Presiding Officers of the Scottish Parliament
Presiding officers	David Steel (1999–2003) George Reid (2003–2007) Alex Fergusson (2007–2011) Tricia Marwick (2011–2016) Ken Macintosh (2016–2021) Alison Johnstone (2021–present)
Deputy presiding officers	Patricia Ferguson (1999–2001) George Reid (1999–2003) Murray Tosh (2001–2007) Trish Godman (2003–2011) Alasdair Morgan (2007–2011) John Scott (2011–2016) Elaine Smith (2011–2016) Linda Fabiani (2016–2021) Christine Grahame (2016–2021) Lewis Macdonald (acting, April 2020)

Lists of Members of the Scottish Parliament
By session	1st Parliament (1999–2003) 2nd Parliament (2003–2007) 3rd Parliament (2007–2011) 4th Parliament (2011–2016) 5th Parliament (2016–2021) 6th Parliament (2021–present)
By party	Conservative Greens Independent Labour Liberal Democrats Scottish Socialist Party Scottish National Party
Other	Presiding Officers and Deputy Presiding Officers First ministers Women By-elections Regional Member changes