Kidd was the SNP candidate at the
1987 general election for
Glasgow Hillhead but finished in fourth place with 2,713 votes, losing to
George Galloway of the
Labour Party. Shortly afterwards, he left the SNP to become a founding member of the Scottish Socialist Party (unrelated to the
current party of that name). In 2009, he decided to concentrate on his Holyrood role and stood down as a Glasgow City councillor. In
2011, he was elected as MSP for Glasgow Anniesland, defeating the Labour candidate by only seven votes. In the
2016 election, Kidd retained the seat, this time with a majority of 6,153 votes. He Kidd won the seat for Anniesland again in 2021, this time winning 17,501 seats ahead of second-placed Scottish Labour candidate Eva Murray's 10,932. On 12 March 2025, he announced he would stand down at the
next Scottish Parliament election. He is a past convenor of the SNP's Glasgow Regional Association. ==References==