Moray MSP Richard Lochhead reflects on 25 years in Scottish politics in this exclusive interview. He discusses the future of Scottish independence, his views on Donald Trump, gender-based politics, and why he’s not standing in the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
Watch now for insights on the SNP's future, Nicola Sturgeon, and what’s next for Lochhead.
Watch now for insights on the SNP's future, Nicola Sturgeon, and what’s next for Lochhead.
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00:00I think there is a good chance that Scotland will get independence in my lifetime.
00:02Obviously, I'm getting on a bit, but I am absolutely confident Scotland one day will be independent.
00:09I'm Richard Walkhead. I'm the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Moray.
00:12I have announced that I will not be contesting the 2026 elections.
00:17And today, I'm very much looking forward to answering your 15 questions.
00:24Ben asks, what has been the highlight of your political career?
00:28It's a very good question. There's been lots of highlights.
00:31Firstly, of course, I've actually been in Parliament since 1999.
00:35I was a regional member before winning the constituency of Moray in 2006.
00:39So just being there for the very first time when the Parliament was reconvened in 1999,
00:44of course, was the highlight of my political career, perhaps, and no doubt one of the highlights of my life.
00:50Sarah asks, looking back on your time in politics, is there anything that you wish you had done differently?
00:56I wish I wasn't quite as cautious with some issues.
00:59Some policies I introduced as part of the government, you think I should have just done that a bit quicker or done earlier.
01:06But of course, you have to make sure all your ducks are in the road before you take forward a policy.
01:10Sometimes it can be a little radical.
01:13So sometimes I reflect on the fact that in politics, we should be a lot more bolder at times.
01:19Tom asks, what are your plans for after you step down?
01:22Well, I've still got a year to go before I retire from frontline politics.
01:27You know, being an MSP, representing the beautiful constituency of Moray and the great people that live here has been the honour of my life.
01:34But by the time of 2026, I'll have been an MSP for 27 years.
01:39And I think it's time, while I'm still young enough, to perhaps seek out different challenges and see what the future holds.
01:45David asks, do you feel like your constituency got good value for money with its years of failure and the local council on the verge of bankruptcy?
01:56The past few years have been very tough financially for all levels of government, for the Scottish government, but also for the Moray Council.
02:04We've had 15 years of austerity from the UK government.
02:08When I came into government in 2007 in Scotland, we had the bank crash about a year later.
02:13And that led to all kinds of emergency financial measures and problems for the Scottish budgets.
02:20Since then, of course, we've had Brexit in 2016, which came into effect a few years later.
02:25And then we had the pandemic, which, of course, was hugely disruptive for people's lives, but also for public finances as well.
02:32But I think it's fair to say there's been a tough time for all local authorities and central government as well.
02:37And sometimes you just have to recognise that.
02:40I absolutely understand, of course, that some of the big rises we've seen just recently for local councillors and the council leader in Moray have raised a few eyebrows, given some of the financial pressures.
02:50For elected representatives at council level, or indeed for MSPs and MPs in Westminster, is that they're set and recommended independently from politicians.
03:00But our councillors do work very hard for not great pay.
03:05And if we want to attract people into local government to have better local services and better local leadership, we need to attract good people.
03:12Charlie asks, why did you not speak out more about the dualling of the A9 and A96?
03:18Well, ever since I was first elected from Moray, I've campaigned for the dualling of the A96.
03:24And of course, the A9 is very important for Moray as well.
03:27And there's been a campaign for dualling the A9 also.
03:31It is good news that the Nairn part of the dualling process is about to get underway soon.
03:35Bruce asks, do you have an opinion on the desecration of rural Scotland, overriding community input on substations, overhead lines and endless BESS sites?
03:49I am concerned about the rolling out of infrastructure to to make sure that we can meet the most of Scotland's renewables potential.
03:56And what I'm concerned about is to ensure the public's views are taken on board and the public see the benefits of this directly in terms of lower energy bills.
04:04We, of course, also want the building of infrastructure, whether it's pylons or substations, to be sensitive to local landscapes.
04:12And, you know, we've got a beautiful area here in Moray and throughout the Highlands and Islands.
04:16But of course, that's where much of the renewable energy is.
04:18So a lot of the infrastructure is going to have to be built in the Highlands and Islands and so on.
04:25Carol asks, do you ever regret that you never managed to get Westminster to look into our extortionate delivery charges?
04:33I've been enormously frustrated by the fact that we've failed to persuade the politicians in London to look at these astronomical and nonsensical parcel delivery surcharges.
04:44It doesn't seem properly regulated.
04:46But the UK government, I think one of the issues, of course, is the politicians in London perhaps think that doesn't affect them directly.
04:52So it's not their priority to deal with this.
04:55Craig asks, what's your favourite sandwich filling?
05:00What's my favourite sandwich filling?
05:01Well, that's that's an unusual question.
05:03Let me think about that. I think my usual go to is tuna.
05:08I love seafood and I love a good tuna sandwich.
05:11And quite often I'm travelling up and down from Edinburgh, I stop off to get coffee and a tuna sandwich.
05:17Mel asks, do you think Donald Trump should be invited to the UK?
05:24Well, I think what we're seeing with the election of Donald Trump is very, very concerning.
05:30And anyone who's been watching their TV screens and what's been happening over the last few weeks will be appalled in many ways.
05:39If America is not going to be an ally of Europe, like it has been since World War Two and before that, then clearly we've got a big problem.
05:49But is he or is he not an ally of Europe before we invite him to come and visit for a state visit?
05:54However, he is the elected president of the USA and the US is our biggest export market.
05:59It's also our biggest inward investor and it's our biggest tourism market as well.
06:04So we have to recognise that Donald Trump is the elected president of the United States of America.
06:09John asks, do you think Nicola Sturgeon's focus upon identity politics has damaged the cause of independence because it made the Scottish government appear out of touch with the people's priorities?
06:23Well, I know many people are concerned about the amount of airtime that some equality issues get, but they're very important issues.
06:33And I think what's been really concerning just in the last few years in particular is how issues around equality issues like transgender or gender based politics or gender based policies, I should say, is that they get weaponised.
06:48And some political parties or politicians, they twist things and they run with this because it's a popular thing to do.
06:58But, you know, if any of us are the transgender child, for instance, we may take a different view of that.
07:04But I think it's really important that we've got a very diverse society and the parliaments have to represent everyone.
07:10There are, of course, a lot of genuine concerns and perhaps as politicians, we've not always listened carefully enough to the genuine concerns that people have expressed.
07:19And, you know, we have to learn lessons from that.
07:22Ali asks, do you think Scotland will get independence in your lifetime?
07:27I think there is a good chance that Scotland will get independence in my lifetime.
07:30Obviously, I'm getting on a bit, but I am absolutely confident Scotland one day will be independent.
07:36We've come on leaps and bounds just over a few decades and in the history of time, a few decades is nothing really.
07:43So I think maybe history's on our side and the generational change, particularly young people, are more likely to support independence than not by quite significant margin.
07:52So I'm confident we're going in the right direction here.
07:54And of course, we've seen ourselves dragged out of the European Union against our wishes because the rest of the UK voted for that, but we didn't.
08:00So there's democratic issues there as well.
08:03I'm confident Scotland will be an independent nation and will join our colleagues from across the world.
08:08Chris asks, has your perception on life changed since your near-death experience and has this affected your political viewpoints?
08:18Well, yeah, I was obviously ill in 2024 and I took ill in May 2024 and it was quite serious.
08:28I had emergency open heart surgery and I had sepsis.
08:31So I was in hospital for six weeks.
08:33So thankfully, I'm recovered and getting on with life now.
08:36Your perspective has changed when you recognise firstly how lucky we are to have the NHS.
08:42As an MSP, I deal with NHS cases all the time, but there I was lying in my bed in the hospital
08:47and the NHS was looking after me and I was observing everything and watching all this.
08:50And it's incredible, dozens of people looking after me.
08:54It also makes you realise that anything can happen tomorrow and we all have to live our
08:57lives to the full and enjoy ourselves, take the right decisions we think will make us happy.
09:01Jordan asks, how do you think the changing of leadership has affected the SNP party?
09:08For many years, of course, the SNP had stable leadership and I always thought, well,
09:14look what's happening to other political parties.
09:16We're very lucky in the SNP.
09:17But of course, we've had two or three First Ministers over the last two or three years now.
09:21So things have been a bit more turbulent in the SNP.
09:24The party grew enormously after 2014 and the independence referendum.
09:28Then we, of course, had different administrations, different leadership.
09:34So I think we're a lot more stable now.
09:36I think John Swinney has certainly steadied the ship.
09:39We had a very tough UK election a few months ago.
09:43Since then, we've seen the SNP go up again in the opinion polls.
09:46So I think we're in a good place now.
09:48Steve asks, we know that you're a keen cyclist.
09:51What would you say your favourite route is around Moray?
09:54I've got several routes that I use quite regularly.
09:56I mean, I quite like just being down the coast roads from Elgin over to
10:00Birkhead and then maybe across to A86, then back up the other side, back round to Elgin.
10:05You know, I can fit in maybe a 30 mile trip doing that sometimes and maybe a bit more.
10:11There are some hills, but not too many hills.
10:13And then, of course, you're coming back inland as well through farmland,
10:17and particularly in the summer.
10:18And, you know, it's very picturesque.
10:21Last question.
10:23What do you want your legacy to be?
10:25I had a lot of really nice messages from my constituents when I announced
10:30I wasn't going to Bassani again in 2026.
10:32It was very moving.
10:34And I think I just want my legacy to be that my heart was in the right place
10:39and I did my best.
10:41I work hard for people.
10:43I hope it was very approachable.
10:45I was a champion for Moray.
10:48I think that's a champion for people as well as for Moray as a whole.
10:51So I hope that's my legacy.
10:53And apart from that, you can see the Lossie Bridge, the new Lossie Bridge, of course,
10:58which I thought was quite instrumental in getting the new bridge down at Lossie.
11:01Lots of other things across the constituency have helped influence as well over the years
11:04and secure investment for all kinds of things,
11:06like the flood alleviation schemes and other areas of our life in Moray.
11:11But I was particularly proud that we got the new bridge at Lossie.