‘It has been an honour’ Retiring Central Ayrshire MP thanks constituents for their support
RETIRING Central Ayrshire MP Dr Phillipa Whitford has looked back on her nine years in Parliament - and thanked her constituents for their support.
The SNP politician announced almost a year ago that she would be stepping down from the seat.
Reflecting on her time in office, Dr Whitford said: “Now we, finally, know the date of the General Election, I will shortly be hanging up my MP boots.
“It has been an honour to serve as the Member of Parliament for the people of Central Ayrshire over the last nine years and I thank them for their engagement, their trust, and their kindness.
“Becoming a politician is not for the fainthearted and nothing, not even over 30 years as a surgeon, fully prepared me but, alongside the difficulties and the frustrations, being an MP provides a wonderful opportunity to help people and to work with fantastic community groups to make a difference. I hope I have achieved this in some small measure.
“The increasing negativity and, at times, toxicity within politics needs to be addressed to so those who would make good elected representatives feel able to put themselves forward. I hope this election can deliver a change in this regard.”
Dr Whitford added: “I would like to thank all those I have worked with, both locally and nationally including my colleagues at Westminster and my wonderful constituency team, Heather, Isabel, Linda, Pete, Alistair and Amy.
“Without them I would not have been able to deliver the assistance required by my constituents.
“My special thanks to Hans, my husband, for his continuing and unconditional support.
“The period since the 2019 election has been a turbulent one at Westminster, particularly with the Covid pandemic and wars in Ukraine and Gaza, but the public have faced a cost-ofliving crisis exacerbated by the self-inflicted harm of Brexit and Liz Truss’ disastrous budget.
“While I may be stepping down from Parliament, I do not plan to step back from politics altogether.
“Indeed, I hope to get out on the campaign trail to further the case for Independence.
“Regardless of who is in Number 10 after July 4, we know Westminster doesn’t work for Scotland - we have seen that time and time again.
“We cannot fulfil our full potential as a nation unless all the powers of government are held in Scotland and all key decisions are made by those who live here.”