Lord James will still sit in the House of Lords

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton confirmed he will not stand for re-election at the next Scottish Parliament elections.

The Conservative MSP for the Lothians served as an MP for 23 years before being elected to Holyrood in 1999.

Lord James will remain a life peer. He will continue to sit in the House of Lords and plans to watch over UK legislation as it affects Scotland.

Revival hope

The second son of the 14th Duke of Hamilton, Lord James was a lawyer until winning the Edinburgh West seat in 1974 and also served as a councillor in the city for two years before that.

He studied at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford, and qualified in Scots law at Edinburgh University.

In his days as an MP, Lord James disclaimed an earldom in 1995 and forfeited his right to a �500,000 inheritance so he could stay on in parliament and help an embattled John Major in a crucial vote on European finance.

Before his election to the Scottish Parliament, he had represented his constituency in the capital for about 23 years.

He lost his seat two years before the devolved parliament formed, but had previously been a minister of state at the Scottish Office when the Tories were in power.

I began my political career as a young man and plan to finish when I am still a young man, even if it is at the end of 33 years as an elected representative Lord James Douglas-Hamilton

During the Thatcher and Major years, he was the longest continuously serving minister at the Scottish Office since the Second World War, with responsibilities for health, education, housing, local government, environment, finance and home affairs over a 10-year period.

The 63-year-old became an MSP in the hope of a Tory party revival in Scotland.

He said: "The next election I believe will produce a positive outcome on the road back to power, with energetic and committed leaders both north and south of the border.