Holyrood ‘at heart of nation’, Swinney to declare at ceremony with King

The Scottish Parliament has placed itself “at the very heart of the nation”, First Minister John Swinney will say as he joins the King and Queen at a ceremony to mark 25 years of devolution at Holyrood.

Charles and Camilla will be at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh for Saturday’s anniversary event.

Mr Swinney, who earlier this year became the seventh first minister since the devolved Parliament convened in 1999, will respond to a speech by the King.

The First Minister is expected to say that in “such a short space of time in the rich voyage of Scotland”, the Scottish Parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”.

He will describe Holyrood as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”, adding it is “all made possible by the service of members of Parliament, working at the very heart of Scotland”.

The King has made six visits to the Parliament since 1999 – while his mother the late Queen made 10 visits during her lifetime.

Mr Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution, representing first the North Tayside constituency and then Perthshire North.

Fellow SNP politician Christine Grahame, who was also part of the first intake of MSPs in 1999, said: “The Scottish Parliament has transformed the lives of the people in Scotland for the better – we should all be proud of that.”

She said devolution has allowed Scotland to “chart a different, better course for our country”, pointing to policy successes.

Ms Grahame said: “Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish Parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination.”