At the opening of the Parliament Reid was defeated 82 votes to 44 by Sir David Steel (a Liberal Democrat, the last-ever leader of the British Liberal Party) for the position of Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and was instead elected a Deputy Presiding Officer [REF].
As the Presiding Officer has a role in advising The Queen, Reid was appointed a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in 2004 [REF].