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Nicol stands down as Scottish party leader

9.24.21am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 3rd Jul 2008

Aberdeen South Liberal Democrat MSP Nicol Stephen stepped down as leader of the Scottish party on 2 July.

In a statement he said: "Last week I informed the Convener of the Scottish Liberal Democrats that I intended to stand down as Party Leader.

"Today I am formally announcing that decision, with immediate effect.

"Everyone involved in politics knows that there are stresses and strains on family life.

"But when it goes beyond that, when it crosses a line, something has to be done.

"And at that stage - when you have to make a choice between family and politics - there can only be one answer. The health and wellbeing of your family has got to come first.

"With four children between the ages of 4 and 12, my family has got to be my priority.

"As an MSP representing a constituency well away from Edinburgh, I have been away from home at least four working days each week for more than nine years.

"As a Party Leader the responsibilities have been even more demanding. You have to be available every day, every week. There is rarely a weekend, a birthday or a family holiday when the demands of the job do not intrude.

"That is not to complain - long hours and long absences from home go with the job.

"But it can all have an impact.

"And when that impact becomes too great, it is time to put my family first.

"I will continue to represent Aberdeen South in the Scottish Parliament. I intend to remain a strong campaigner on behalf of my city and my constituents.

"It has been an honour and a great privilege to lead the party over the last three years and to be part of the first generation of Liberal Democrats to be in government in Britain since the Second World War.

"In that time the Scottish Liberal Democrats have achieved much for the people of Scotland. We succeeded in scrapping student tuition fees, in setting bold targets for renewable energy and in delivering a fair voting system for local government.

"As a Minister, I welcomed the chance to deliver the Parliament's first cut in business rates, to introduce enterprise education for every child and to kick start new wave and tidal projects to release Scotland's potential to be the renewable energy powerhouse of Europe.

"And, during my time as leader, the Party shook the foundations of Scottish politics when Willie Rennie gained the Dunfermline and West Fife by-election from Labour. We also gained Dunfermline West at the Scottish election, and across Scotland saw our number of votes and our share of the vote increase - a notable achievement for a party which had been in power for eight years.

"Our party is united and our shadow cabinet team has been taking the fight to the SNP in Parliament with a strong and consistently effective performance.

"And I have enjoyed challenging the new First Minister at question time each week. I will miss that.

"I will miss it all, a great deal.

"My hunger for change in Scotland - tackling global warming, building the role of young people in our country and stopping the slide of civil liberties - is no less now than when I started in politics 25 years ago.

"However, that drive and that passion comes at a price. And it is a sacrifice that that my family should no longer have to make. Their happiness is more important than any political office and that is the reason for me standing down as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

"Our new leader can be assured of my total support and my constant encouragement. It has been a fascinating few days in Scottish politics and today's announcement will be for most another unexpected twist.

"But the fundamentals are clear.

"The Liberal Democrats are united, strong and growing.

"Labour are coming to the end of their time at Westminster. The SNP are starting to find government tougher than they expected. Broken promises catch up with you. And the Conservative strategy of continually propping up the SNP in Holyrood remains to me simply staggering.

"I believe that there is a huge opportunity for our party at this time. It is going to be an exciting few years.

"And I wish my successor great success.

"Finally, I want to thank friends and colleagues for their support, advice and encouragement. They know who they are - at Westminster, at Holyrood and across Scotland. I will not get into that cliché of mentioning a long list of those who have meant so much to me over the years, but they know who they are.

"Above all, however, I want to thank my wife Caris and my four kids for all their help - and all they put up with - in supporting my life in politics.

"That other cliché is for a politician to say he is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

"In my case it happens to be true.

"Perhaps my announcement today should alert people to the demands which are placed on politicians and their families.

"For me, it is simpler than that. Recognising those demands, it reflects what I must do - as a personal, not a political, priority.

"Thank you."

Stephen welcomes government dental u-turn

12.00.00am GMT Wed 20th Feb 2008

Nicol Stephen, MSP for Aberdeen South, has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament welcoming the Government's u-turn over funding for new students at the Aberdeen Dental School, but calling for the outstanding issues with the new facility to be resolved.

Following Mr Stephen raising his concerns at First Minister's Questions in Holyrood about the £7,100 of tuition fees which potential students at the Aberdeen Dental Institute faced the Government now plan to waive the tuition fees for students studying dentistry in Aberdeen.

Mr Stephen has also asked the Government to confirm if the waiving of fees will be linked in any way to the newly graduated dentists working for the NHS after they graduate.

Commenting, Mr Stephen said:

"If the Government do waive the tuition fees of dental students studying in Aberdeen then this will be a welcome u-turn that could help to alleviate the chronic shortage of dentists in the North East. Ministers had completely failed to address this problem until I raised it at First Minister's Questions in Holyrood.

"Ensuring that dental students studying in Aberdeen are not financially penalised compared to their counterparts in Glasgow or Dundee is a victory for those, including the Liberal Democrats, the Evening Express and many community groups, who have campaigned long and hard for an Aberdeen Dental School.

"However, it is still unclear if the Government plan to tie this new money to any commitment to work for the NHS in Grampian after the dental students graduate. The minister must make her position on this clear.

"There are still many outstanding issues such as lectures being delivered by video from Dundee, student accommodation and the comparatively low number of students being enrolled each year. I have today lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament calling for the remaining outstanding issues to be resolved. I will continue my campaign until Aberdeen has a full dental school up and running."

Stephen condemns councils' tight financial settlement

12.00.00am GMT Thu 14th Feb 2008

Leader of the Liberal Democrats in Scotland and MSP for Aberdeen South, Nicol Stephen, has slammed the SNP Government for delivering a local finance settlement that could result in cuts to key social services across Scotland's local authorities.

Commenting, Mr Stephen said:

"As councils across Scotland finalise their own budgets, it is becoming increasingly clear that they are being forced into difficult and damaging decisions.

"The financial settlement provided by the SNP and Tories at Holyrood is leading to local authorities across Scotland being forced to make cuts in education, sports facilities and their key public services.

"We have already seen in places such as Aberdeen and Glasgow that because of the harsh restraints placed on local authorities, councils are being forced to make cuts to key public services.

"Freezing council tax has grabbed the headlines but we now see that it may come at a high cost to vital social services in many places across Scotland."

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