John Ramsay Swinney is a Scottish politician who has served as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since May 2024. He previously served as the leader of the SNP from 2000 to 2004 as Leader of the Opposition,and held various roles within the Scottish Cabinet from 2007 to 2023 under First Ministers Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon. Swinney was Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for North Tayside from 1999 to 2011 and,following boundary changes,has been MSP for Perthshire North since 2011. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001.
Kenneth Donald Macintosh is a Scottish politician who served as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2016 to 2021. Elected as a member of Scottish Labour,he suspended his party membership on becoming Presiding Officer. Macintosh was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) from 1999 to 2021,representing the Eastwood constituency from 1999 to 2016,and then the West Scotland region from 2016 to 2021.
Scottish Labour,is the part of the UK Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and unionist,it holds 22 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons. It is represented by 262 of the 1,227 local councillors across Scotland. The Scottish Labour party has no separate Chief Whip at Westminster.
William John Graham Scott is a Scottish farmer and former Scottish Conservative politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Ayr from 2000 to 2021.
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party is part of the UK Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons,31 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament,and comprises 209 of Scotland's 1,227 local councillors.
David Jackson Carlaw is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from February to July 2020,having acted in the position since August 2019. He previously served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) since 2007,first as an additional member for the West Scotland region and later for the Eastwood constituency since 2016.
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.
The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 11 May 2021,under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The election was held alongside the Senedd election in Wales,English local elections,London Assembly and mayoral election and the Hartlepool by-election.
Ruth Elizabeth Davidson,Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links,,is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament from 2020 to 2021. She served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Glasgow from 2011 to 2016 and for Edinburgh Central from 2016 to 2021. She has been a member of the House of Lords since 2021. Davidson is co-host of Sky News podcast Electrical Dysfunction alongside Beth Rigby and Baroness Harman.
The 2011 Scottish Conservatives leadership election was an internal party election to choose a new leader of the Scottish Conservatives,who at the time were the third-largest political party in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Ruth Davidson was declared the winner of the contest on 4 November 2011 and succeeded Annabel Goldie. The election was triggered when incumbent party leader Annabel Goldie resigned her position on 9 May 2011,following her party's self-described 'disappointing' result in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election,where the Conservatives were reduced from 17 seats to 15.
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party,she was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Lothian region from 2011 to 2019.
Carol Ann "Annie" Wells is a British politician of the Scottish Conservatives,who served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party to Jackson Carlaw in 2020. She has served as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016.
Douglas Gordon Ross is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2020 to 2024 and as Leader of the Opposition in the Scottish Parliament from 2021 to 2024. He served as Member of the UK Parliament (MP) for Moray from 2017 to 2024. Ross currently serves as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Highlands and Islands,having been elected as a regional list MSP in 2021. He was previously MSP for the region from 2016 to 2017.
Michelle Lorraine Ballantyne is a British property developer,former politician and nurse who served as Leader of Reform UK Scotland from January 2021 to February 2022. She was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the South Scotland region from 2017 to 2021,having been elected for the Scottish Conservatives.
Stephen Charles Kerr is a Scottish Conservative &Unionist politician,currently serving as a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Central Scotland Region since 2021. From 2021 to 2022,Kerr served as the Convener of the Education,Children and Young People Committee. Prior to his election to Holyrood,Kerr was the Member of Parliament for Stirling from 2017 to 2019.
The February 2020 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election was the fourth internal party election to elect the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives,part of the British Conservative Party and the second-largest political party in the devolved Scottish Parliament. Ruth Davidson,who won the previous leadership election in 2011,resigned on 29 August 2019. Two candidates contested the election:Jackson Carlaw MSP,who served as the Scottish Conservatives' interim leader,and Michelle Ballantyne MSP. Carlaw was seen as the favourite in the contest,and won the endorsement of most of the party's MSPs and MPs. Carlaw won the election on 14 February 2020,winning more than three-quarters of the votes of party members.
The August 2020 Scottish Conservative Party leadership election was the fifth internal party election to elect the next leader of the Scottish Conservatives,part of the British Conservative Party and the second-largest political party in the devolved Scottish Parliament.
Meghan Gallacher is a British politician who has served as Deputy Leader of the Scottish Conservatives from 2022 to 2024. She has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Central Scotland region since 2021. Gallacher was a councillor for the Motherwell West ward from 2017 to 2022,serving as the Conservatives party's group leader in the North Lanarkshire Council.
Russell Findlay is a Scottish politician and journalist who has served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party since September 2024. He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the West Scotland region since 2021. A member of the Scottish Conservatives,he served as the party's director of communications.
The 2024 Scottish Conservatives leadership election took place on 27 September 2024 after Douglas Ross announced his resignation on 10 June. Russell Findlay won the election and became Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party.
