Moray By-election

'My priorities will be to provide the constituency with a campaigning and vocal MSP to help secure economic and social progress for the people of Moray.' Richard Lochhead MSP, 3 rd April 2006.

Lochhead sets out his stall for Moray poll

By David Perry in the Press & Journal 1 st April 2006

The SNP wasted no time yesterday in launching its by-election campaign to retain the Moray seat in the Scottish Parliament.

The launch came little over 12 hours after Richard Lochhead had been confirmed as the party's candidate at the by-election on April 27 caused by the death of Margaret Ewing two weeks ago.

Mr Lochhead is a north-east list MSP and will resign his seat in the next few days to fight the by-election.

He said it was a tremendous honour to have been selected as candidate.

"Moray is a very special and beautiful constituency that represents everything that is great about Scotland," he said.

"It is a seat that has been in the vanguard of the independence movement and the campaign to take our nation forward to a better future."

Mr Lochhead, 36, who has sat in the Sottish Parliament since 1999, said the constituency faced many challenges. "My priorities will be to provide the constituency with a campaigning and vocal MSP to help secure economic and social progress for the people of Moray," he said.

"I will work with the local community to attract new jobs to the area and I will devote my energies to important local issues such as delivering more bobbies on the beat, affordable housing and dental services along with saving local schools and dealing with flooding problems."

Mr Lochhead was accompanied at the campaign launch in Elgin by SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon and Moray MP Angus Robertson.