| |||||
Centuries: | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decades: | |||||
See also: | List of years in Scotland Timeline of Scottish history 2023 in: The UK • England • Wales • Elsewhere Scottish football: 2022–23 • 2023–24 2023 in Scottish television |
Events from the year 2023 in Scotland.
The Scottish National Party is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 62 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It has 453 local councillors of the 1,227 available. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom and for Scotland's membership in the European Union, with a platform based on progressive social policies and civic nationalism. Founded in 1934 with the amalgamation of the National Party of Scotland and the Scottish Party, the party has had continuous parliamentary representation in Westminster since Winnie Ewing won the 1967 Hamilton by-election.
Fiona Jane Hyslop is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Transport since 2024. Hyslop has served in various offices under first ministers Salmond, Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney; as education secretary, culture secretary, and economy secretary as well as in junior ministerial roles. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Linlithgow constituency since 2011, having represented the Lothians region from 1999 to 2011.
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from 2014 to 2023. She has served as a member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first as an additional member for the Glasgow electoral region, and as the member for Glasgow Southside from 2007.
Michael Stephen Matheson is a Scottish politician who has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 1999, first representing the Central Scotland region and, since 2007, the Falkirk West constituency. Matheson previously served in the Scottish government as Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care from 2023 to 2024, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero, Energy and Transport from 2018 to 2023, and Cabinet Secretary for Justice from 2014 to 2018.
Shona McRory Robison is a Scottish politician who has served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 2023 to 2024. Robison has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City East since 2003 and was an additional member for the North East Scotland region from 1999 to 2003.
Patrick Harvie is a Scottish politician who served as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights from 2021 to 2024. He has served as one of two co-leaders of the Scottish Greens since 2008, and is one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as a government minister. Harvie has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2003.
Keith James Brown is a Scottish politician serving as Depute Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2018. He is a former Royal Marines commando and has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2007, first representing the Ochil constituency from 2007 to 2011, then the Clackmannanshire and Dunblane constituency since 2011. Brown previously served in the Scottish Cabinet, most recently as Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans from 2021 to 2023.
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond was a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024.
Humza Haroon Yousaf is a Scottish politician who served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) from March 2023 to May 2024. He served under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon as justice secretary from 2018 to 2021 and then as health secretary from 2021 to 2023. He has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow Pollok since 2016, having previously been a regional MSP for Glasgow from 2011 to 2016.
Patrick John Grady is a Scottish politician. He was elected at the 2015 UK general election as the Scottish National Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow North. He was re-elected in 2017 and in 2019, but did not stand again in 2024.
Jennifer Madeleine Gilruth is a Scottish politician who has served as the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since 2016.
Ashten Regan is a Scottish politician. She has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Edinburgh Eastern since 2016. Initially elected to parliament for the Scottish National Party (SNP), she defected to the Alba Party. Regan served under First Minister Nicola Sturgeon as the minister for community safety from 2018 until she resigned in 2022 in protest against her government's Gender Recognition Reform bill.
Kate Elizabeth Forbes is a Scottish politician who has served as Deputy First Minister of Scotland and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic since May 2024. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Economy from 2020 to 2023. Forbes has been Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch since 2016.
Lorna Slater is a Scots-Canadian politician in Scotland, who served as Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government from 2021 to 2024. She has been co-leader of the Scottish Greens, alongside Patrick Harvie, since 2019, and was one of the first Green politicians in the UK to serve as government ministers.
The Bute House Agreement, officially the Cooperation Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group was a power-sharing agreement between the Scottish National Party (SNP) government and the Scottish Greens which was agreed in August 2021 to support the Third Sturgeon government and then was reaffirmed to support the First Yousaf government.
The 2023 Scottish National Party leadership election took place in February and March 2023 to choose the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, who announced her resignation on 15 February. Nominations closed on 24 February 2023 with three candidates: Kate Forbes, Ash Regan, and Humza Yousaf being presented to the electorate of party members. Yousaf was elected the new leader on 27 March with 48.2% of first preference votes and 52.1% of the vote after third-placed candidate Regan's second preferences were redistributed. Yousaf was elected as the First Minister of Scotland on 28 March 2023.
Humza Yousaf's term as first minister of Scotland began on 29 March 2023 when he was formally sworn into office at the Court of Session, and ended on 7 May 2024, when he resigned amid two votes of no confidence in him and his government.
Humza Yousaf formed the first Yousaf government on 29 March 2023 following his appointment as first minister of Scotland at the Court of Session. It followed the resignation of Nicola Sturgeon as first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on 15 February, triggering a leadership contest that Yousaf won.
Events from the year 2024 in Scotland.