LOCAL PARLIAMENTARIANS PAY TRIBUTE TO NICOL STEPHEN

10.31.06pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 5th Jul 2008

Responding to the announcement that Nicol Stephen has resigned from the leadership of the Scottish Liberal Democrats with immediate effect, Michael Moore MP and Jeremy Purvis MSP have praised his contribution to the Borders.

Jeremy Purvis said:

"Nicol has been a friend to the Borders. As Transport Minister it was Nicol Stephen who came to the Borders and committed Scottish Government financing for the Borders Railway, a decision reversed by the SNP who will now borrow all of the funding required.

"And as Enterprise Minister he committed the largest single grant for Further Education in the Borders when he approved the Government investment in the Netherdale campus re-development. He understood the need to invest in rural areas, and his legacy is an important one. On a personal level Nicol is a deeply conscientious person, and through his leadership he never forgot the reason why he and others have entered politics, to help individuals aspire to better things. His successor has the task of building on this record."

Michael Moore added:

"Nicol has led the party with distinction. He oversaw the transition from being Deputy First Minister to a leader of an opposition party with distinction. He quickly became, without doubt, the best interrogator of the new Scottish Government in the Chamber.

"I have known Nicol for a very long time and I know that he was a leader that spoke from the heart as well as having a clear view of the kind of Scotland he wanted it to be. His resignation has taken many by surprise but his reason for doing so will not. He is a family man, and his priorities have always been clear. I wish him, and his family, all the very best."