Kenneth Gibson elected 16:45 presiding officer in Holyrood vote

Kenneth Gibson, an SNP MSP, was elected on Wednesday as the new presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament as Holyrood entered its seventh term. He beat Claire Haughey, Stuart McMillan and Liam McArthur in the final round of voting.

His first job after taking the chair was to kick off the vote to elect his deputy. Gibson said he was looking forward to working with every single person in the chamber and thanked those who backed him “through thick and thin” during a stressful afternoon.

Holyrood chamber oath

The vote came after MSPs spent three hours taking an oath or making an affirmation in the chamber. John Swinney was first to be sworn in as leader of the largest party, with the other party leaders following and the rest of the MSPs called forward in alphabetical order.

Some MSPs repeated their declarations in Scots, Doric and Gaelic. After Gibson was announced, Swinney congratulated him and Alison Johnstone gave him a hug as he crossed the Holyrood floor to take his seat for the first time.

Gibson's first task

Gibson told MSPs, “There is so much more we can be as a parliament than we have been in the past,” as he settled into the role. He then announced that parliament would reconvene at 16:45 to announce the nominations for deputy presiding officer.

That put the chamber immediately into the next stage of its opening day work, with the deputy presiding officer election following an hour later. The presiding officer role now moves from contest to procedure, with Gibson responsible for steering the vote that fills his second-in-command post.