Holyrood's presiding officer Ken Macintosh to stand down next year
- Published
Mr Macintosh presides over debates in the Scottish Parliament chamber
The Scottish Parliament's presiding officer has announced he will step down as an MSP at next year's election.
Ken Macintosh has served in the role - which is similar to the Speaker in the House of Commons - since 2016.
In a letter to his constituents, Mr Macintosh said he was proud of what the Scottish Parliament had achieved over the past 20 years.
But he said he had decided not to seek re-election next May after "much reflection".
Mr Macintosh had represented the Eastwood constituency from the parliament's opening to 1999 until 2016, when he became a list MSP for the West of Scotland.
He twice stood as an unsuccessful candidate in Scottish Labour leadership contests - being defeated by Johann Lamond in 2011 and Kezia Dugdale four years later.
In his letter, Mr Macintosh said he originally stood for election because he believed the new Scottish Parliament offered a "fresh way of approaching politics".
He added: "I believe the Scottish Parliament has delivered on so much of that early promise.
"But I am conscious too that the threat to democratic politics and our liberal society looms as large as it has ever done."
He said the privilege of becoming the parliament's fifth presiding officer was something he would never forget, and pledged to do all he could in the future to "support the parliament and the hopes and ambitions it sustains for our democracy".
And he said it had been an honour and a privilege to serve his constituents, adding: "I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given me to make a difference on your behalf and the kindness and generosity you have shown me".
Sunbed parlours
In his time in the Scottish Parliament, the father-of-six - who was a BBC News television producer before being elected - successfully introduced a Member's Bill bringing in tougher regulations for sunbed parlours in a bid to help tackle skin cancer.
He served in various front bench roles for Scottish Labour, and was briefly a ministerial aide to then-First Minister Jack McConnell.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard said Mr Macintosh had been a "great servant of the Scottish Labour Party, the parliament and most important of all, the people."
Mr Leonard added: "His unstinting efforts as a Labour front bencher and over the last four years as the presiding officer have consistently made the case for the parliament as a power for change.
"He is a kind and decent man with a strong sense of his own values. The Scottish Labour Party wishes him, Claire and the family well."