THE SNP’S Sandra White was last night elected as the sole female member of Holyrood’s corporate body. The long-serving MSP was voted on to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SCPB), which is responsible for ensuring that the Scottish Parliament is provided with the property, staff and services it requires, after her party colleague Gordon Macdonald stood down last week.
That move came amid concerns that there were no women among the five members of the SCPB, which is chaired by presiding officer Ken Macintosh.
Macdonald stood down at the request of Nicola Sturgeon, who was responding to the gender imbalance of the body responsible for the day-to-day running of the Parliament.
It was part of wider concerns about a male-dominated culture at Holyrood and followed the sexual harassment allegations that have rocked politics north and south of the Border. Announcing White’s election to the body, a Scottish Parliament spokesman said: “The presiding officer welcomes Sandra White’s election as a step towards restoring greater gender balance on the SPCB. He will meet with all political parties next week to agree what further action can be taken to secure greater gender balance on both the SPCB and Parliamentary Bureau.”
Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman has also indicated he will stand down from the SPCB. The Lothian MSP is likely to be replaced by his Green colleague Alison Johnstone.
Wightman said last week he was taking action because he believed “the structures of our Parliament should be representative of the public we seek to serve”.
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