Meeting of the Parliament 22 March 2016
Jackson Carlaw quickly absorbed the detail of our health service, which I have lived and breathed for a long time.
It has been a privilege to represent the great folk of north-east Scotland for the past 13 years and to meet the many people whom I have got to know down here through committee work and the many cross-party groups that I am involved with. However, I am looking forward very much to getting back to my long-suffering husband and family, to re-engaging with many friends in Aberdeen and beyond, and to paying a bit more attention to my home and garden.
When I met the late Tom McCabe’s widow showing her young daughter around Parliament last week, I was reminded of my maiden speech in 2003. That was in a members’ business debate on north-east dentistry, to which Tom McCabe replied in his role as health minister. During his speech, he inadvertently referred to me as Nanette Newman, who was quite a famous film star in her day—she is probably not known to younger members. Poor Tom McCabe could not understand what he had said to result in such loud laughter all around him, and I dined out on his mistake for quite some time.
Thirteen years on, I think that I am the oldest member of the Parliament. Therefore, there is perhaps a degree of irony in the fact that my final contribution is at stage 3 of the Burial and Cremation (Scotland) Bill. We will, of course, support the bill at decision time. [Applause.]