Next Scottish Parliament election

Next Scottish Parliament election

←  2021 On or before 7 May 2026
All 129 seats to the Scottish Parliament 65 seats needed for a majority
Opinion polls
Leader John Swinney Russell Findlay Anas Sarwar Party SNP Conservative Labour Leader since 6 May 2024 27 September 2024 27 February 2021 Leader's seat Perthshire North West Scotland Glasgow Last election 64 seats 31 seats 22 seats Current seats 60 28 22 Seats needed 5 36 43   Leader Ross Greer / Gillian Mackay Alex Cole-Hamilton Kenny MacAskill Party Green Liberal Democrats Alba Leader since 29 August 2025 20 August 2021 26 March 2025 Leader's seat West Scotland / Central Scotland Edinburgh Western None Last election 8 seats 4 seats 0 seats Current seats 7 5 1 Seats needed 58 60 64   Leader Nigel Farage Party Reform UK Leader since 3 June 2024 Leader's seat None Last election 0 seats Current seats 1 Seats needed 64
Incumbent First Minister John Swinney SNP

The next Scottish Parliament election is required to be held no later than Thursday 7 May 2026, to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It will be the seventh general election since the devolved parliament was established in 1999.

Six parties have MSPs in the sixth parliament: The Scottish National Party (SNP) led by First Minister John Swinney, the Scottish Conservatives led by Russell Findlay, Scottish Labour led by Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Greens, led by co-leaders Gillian Mackay and Ross Greer, and the Scottish Liberal Democrats, led by Alex Cole-Hamilton. Of these parties, four have changed their leaders since the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021. Alba also have one MSP following a defection from the SNP. John Mason and Fergus Ewing both sit as an independents, having being expelled from the SNP. In August 2025 Colin Smyth was suspended from both the Scottish Labour and Co-operative parties, and Jeremy Balfour left the Scottish Conservative Party. Both also are now sitting as Independents.

Date

Under the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020, an ordinary general election to the Scottish Parliament would normally be held on the first Thursday in May five years after the 2021 election, i.e. on 7 May 2026. ^[1] This Act superseded the Scotland Act 1998, which had set elections in every fourth year. ^[2]

The date of the poll may be varied by up to one month either way by the monarch, on the proposal of the Presiding Officer, making 4 June 2026 the latest possible date for this election, assuming the convention of holding elections on a Thursday stands. ^[2]

If Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved, with at least two-thirds of the members (i.e. 86 Members) voting in favour, the Presiding Officer proposes a date for an extraordinary general election and the Parliament is dissolved by the monarch by royal proclamation.

It does not necessarily require a two-thirds majority to precipitate an extraordinary general election, because under the Scotland Act Parliament is also dissolved if it fails to nominate one of its members to be First Minister within certain time limits, irrespective of whether at the beginning or in the middle of a parliamentary term. Therefore, if the First Minister resigned, Parliament would then have 28 days to elect a successor (s46(2)b and s46(3)a). If no new First Minister was elected then the Presiding Officer would ask for Parliament to be dissolved under s3(1)a. This process could also be triggered if the First Minister lost a vote of confidence by a simple majority (i.e. more than 50%), as they must then resign (Scotland Act 1998 s45(2)).

No extraordinary general elections have been held to date. Any extraordinary general elections would be in addition to ordinary general elections, unless held less than six months before the due date of an ordinary general election, in which case they supplant it. The subsequent ordinary general election reverts to the first Thursday in May, five years after the previous ordinary election. ^{[1] [3]}

Election system, seats, and regions

Main articles: Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions and List of Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions (2026–)

The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) elected to the Parliament is 129.

The Scottish Parliament uses an additional member system (AMS), designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are 8 regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one MSP by the plurality (first past the post) system of election. Each region elects 7 additional MSPs using an additional member system. A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to elect these additional MSPs. ^{[4] [5]}

The Scottish Parliament constituencies have not been coterminous with Scottish Westminster constituencies since the 2005 general election, when the 72 former UK Parliament constituencies were replaced with a new set of 59, generally larger, constituencies (see Scottish Parliament (Constituencies) Act 2004). The boundaries used for the Scottish Parliament elections were then revised for the 2011 election. The Boundary Commission also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament, ^[6] which were also implemented in 2011.

The Second Periodic Review of constituency and regional boundaries began in September 2022 and was completed by May 2025, with the view of being used in the next election in 2026. ^{[7] [8]}

MSPs not standing for re-election

A record number of MSPs are not seeking re-election. ^{[9] [10] [11]}

Members of Scottish Parliament not standing for re-election

MSP	Seat	First elected	Party		Date announced
John Mason	Glasgow Shettleston	2011		Independent (elected as SNP)	25 April 2023 [12]
James Dornan	Glasgow Cathcart			SNP	10 August 2023 [13]
Christine Grahame	Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale	1999			September 2024 [14]
Ruth Maguire	Cunninghame South	2016			16 November 2024 [15]
Elena Whitham	Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley	2021			25 November 2024 [16]
Humza Yousaf	Glasgow Pollok	2011			17 December 2024 [17]
Oliver Mundell	Dumfriesshire	2016		Conservative	9 January 2025 [18]
Richard Lochhead	Moray	1999		SNP	26 January 2025 [19]
Joe FitzPatrick	Dundee City West	2007			28 January 2025 [20]
Michelle Thomson	Falkirk East	2021			29 January 2025 [21]
Audrey Nicoll	Aberdeen South and North Kincardine				9 February 2025 [22]
Evelyn Tweed	Stirling				12 February 2025 [23]
Graeme Dey	Angus South	2011			19 February 2025 [24]
Beatrice Wishart	Shetland	2019		Liberal Democrats	20 February 2025 [25]
Liz Smith	Mid Scotland and Fife	2007		Conservative	25 February 2025 [26]
Rona Mackay	Strathkelvin and Bearsden	2016		SNP	25 February 2025 [27]
Edward Mountain	Highlands and Islands			Conservative	26 February 2025 [28]
Gordon MacDonald	Edinburgh Pentlands	2011		SNP	28 February 2025 [29]
Annabelle Ewing	Cowdenbeath				2 March 2025 [30]
Richard Leonard	Central Scotland	2016		Labour	4 March 2025 [31]
Shona Robison	Dundee City East	1999		SNP	5 March 2025 [32]
Fiona Hyslop	Linlithgow				5 March 2025 [32]
Alex Rowley	Mid Scotland and Fife	2014		Labour	6 March 2025 [33]
Bill Kidd	Glasgow Anniesland	2007		SNP	12 March 2025 [34]
Nicola Sturgeon	Glasgow Southside	1999			12 March 2025 [35]
Natalie Don-Innes	Renfrewshire North and West	2021			13 March 2025 [36]
Mairi Gougeon	Angus North and Mearns	2016			14 March 2025 [37]
Michael Matheson	Falkirk West	1999			16 March 2025 [38]
Willie Coffey	Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley	2007			17 March 2025 [39]
Douglas Ross	Highlands and Islands	2016		Conservative	25 March 2025 [40]
Maurice Golden	North East Scotland				7 April 2025 [41]
Rhoda Grant	Highlands and Islands	1999		Labour	15 May 2025 [42]
Sarah Boyack	Lothian	1999		Labour	16 June 2025 [43]
Alison Johnstone	Lothian	2011		Presiding Officer [a]	20 June 2025 [44]
Kate Forbes	Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch	2016		SNP	4 August 2025 [45]
Mercedes Villalba	North East Scotland	2021		Labour	2 September 2025 [46]
Tess White	North East Scotland	2021		Conservative	2 September 2025 [47]
Kevin Stewart	Aberdeen Central	2011		SNP	8 September 2025 [48]

Candidates

Constituencies

Seat	SNP [49]		Labour		Conservative		Green		Lib Dem		Reform UK		Other
Aberdeen Central						Stewart Whyte
Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine		Stephen Flynn				Liam Kerr				Mel Sullivan
Aberdeen Donside		Jackie Dunbar				Hannah Powell								Kelly Wilson (Sovereignty) [50]
Aberdeenshire East		Gillian Martin				Douglas Lumsden [51]				David Evans
Aberdeenshire West		Glen Reynolds				Alexander Burnett				Jeff Goodhall
Airdrie		Neil Gray		Suzanne Macleod
Almond Valley		Angela Constance		Jordan Stokoe [52]		Damian Doran-Timson
Angus North and Mearns		Dawn Black								Martyn Knights				Lynne Tammi-Connelly (Independent) [53]
Angus South		Lloyd Melville				Tracey Smith [54]								Moira Macpherson Brown (Sovereignty) [50]
Argyll and Bute		Jenni Minto				Amanda Hampsey [55]				Alan Reid [56]				Fiona Nelson (ISP) [57]
Ayr		Siobhian Brown		Brian McGinley [58]		Sharon Dowey [59]								Denise Sommerville (independent) [60]
Banffshire and Buchan Coast		Karen Adam				James Adams								David McHutchon (Sovereignty) [50]
Bathgate		Pauline Stafford		Jenny Young [58]		Peter Heggie								John Hannah (ISP) [57]
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross		Maree Todd		Eva Kestner [61]		Elaine Kirby				David Green [62]
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley		Allan Dorans		Carol Mochan [63]		Tracey Clark								Sean Davis (independent) [64]
Clackmannanshire and Dunblane		Keith Brown		Suzanne Grahame [58]		Alexander Stewart [65]								Eva Comrie (Independent) [57]
Clydebank and Milngavie		Marie McNair		Callum McNally [66]		Alix Mathieson [67]				Ben Langmead
Clydesdale		Máiri McAllan		Lynsey Hamilton [63]
Coatbridge and Chryston		Fulton MacGregor		Kieron Higgins		Andy Bruce [59]								Julie McAnulty (ISP) [57]
Cowdenbeath		David Barratt				Darren Watt [59]								Laurie Moffat (Sovereignty) [50]
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth		Jamie Hepburn		James McPhilemy [66]										Alan McManus (Sovereignty) [50]
Cunninghame North		Kenneth Gibson
Cunninghame South		Patricia Gibson		Katy Clark
Dumbarton		Math Campbell-Sturgess		Jackie Baillie [68]		Gary Mulvaney [59]
Dumfriesshire		Stephen Thompson				Craig Hoy
Dundee City East		Stephen Gethins		Cheryl-Ann Cruickshank [66]		Jack Cruickshanks [59]								Allan Petrie (Independent) [57]
Dundee City West		Heather Anderson		Michael Marra
Dunfermline		Shirley-Anne Somerville				Thomas Heald
East Kilbride		Collette Stevenson		Joe Fagan [63]		Brian Whittle
East Lothian Coast and Lammermuirs		Paul McLennan				Miles Briggs
Eastwood		Kirsten Oswald		Kayleigh Quinn [63]		Jackson Carlaw								Colette Walker (ISP) [57]
Edinburgh Central		Angus Robertson				Jo Mowat
Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent		Kate Campbell		Katherine Sangster [63]		Tim Jones [59]
Edinburgh North Eastern and Leith		Ben Macpherson		Oliver Thomas [63]
Edinburgh North Western		Lyn Jardine								Alex Cole-Hamilton				Derek James Kerr (Independent)
Edinburgh Northern		Euan Hyslop		Foysol Choudhury [69]		Christopher Cowdy				Sanne Dijkstra-Downie
Edinburgh South Western		Simita Kumar		Catriona Munro		Sue Webber [70]
Edinburgh Southern		Sally Donald		Daniel Johnson [71]		Marie-Clair Munro
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire		John Redpath		Kaymarie Hughes [58]		Rachael Hamilton
Falkirk East and Linlithgow		Martyn Day		Siobhan Paterson [58]
Falkirk West		Gary Bouse		Paul Godzik [63]
Fife North East						Edward Sheasby				Willie Rennie [72]
Galloway and West Dumfries		Emma Harper		Jack McConnel [73]		Finlay Carson
Glasgow Anniesland		Colm Merrick		Eunis Jassemi [74]		Sandesh Gulhane
Glasgow Baillieston and Shettleston		David Linden		Pauline McNeill [63]		John Murray
Glasgow Cathcart and Pollok		Zen Ghani		Anas Sarwar [63]		Kyle Park								Yvonne Ridley (Workers Party of Britain)
Glasgow Central		Alison Thewliss		Vonnie Sandlan		Naveed Asghar								Paul Steele (ISP) [57]
Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn		Ivan McKee		Paul Sweeney [63]		Josephine Macleod
Glasgow Kelvin and Maryhill		Bob Doris		Pam Duncan Glancy
Glasgow Southside		Kaukab Stewart												George Galloway (Workers Party of Britain)
Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse														John Forbes (ISP) [57]
Inverclyde		Stuart McMillan		Francesca Brennan [63]		Ted Runciman [59]
Inverness and Nairn		Emma Roddick		Shaun Fraser [75]		Ruraidh Stewart [76]				Neil Alexander [77]				Fergus Ewing (independent) [78] Duncan Macpherson (independent)
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley		Alan Brown		Ewan McPhee [79]
Kirkcaldy		David Torrance		Claire Baker [63]
Mid Fife and Glenrothes		Jenny Gilruth
Midlothian North		Colin Beattie				Phil Doggart
Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale		Calum Kerr		Daniel Coleman [66]		Keith Cockburn
Moray		Laura Mitchell				Tim Eagle [80]
Motherwell and Wishaw		Clare Adamson		Ayeshah Khan [63]										Greig McArthur (Independent)
Na h-Eileanan an Iar		Alasdair Allan		Donald MacKinnon [63]										Kenneth McKenzie (Sovereignty) [50]
Orkney Islands		Robert Leslie [81]				Jamie Halcro Johnston [82]
Paisley		George Adam		Neil Bibby [63]
Perthshire North		John Swinney				Murdo Fraser [59]
Perthshire South and Kinross-shire		Jim Fairlie				Roz McCall [83]
Renfrewshire North and Cardonald		Michelle Campbell		Stuart Clark [63]
Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley		Tom Arthur		Paul O'Kane [63]
Rutherglen and Cambuslang		Clare Haughey		Monica Lennon [66]		Annie Wells
Shetland Islands		Hannah Mary Goodlad								Emma Macdonald
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch						Helen Crawford [59]				Andrew Baxter				Stuart Jackson (Sovereignty) [50]
Stirling		Alyn Smith		Kainde Manji [63]		Stephen Kerr								Matthew Riley (Independent) [53]
Strathkelvin and Bearsden		Denis Johnston		Colette McDiarmid [66]		Pam Gosal [84]				Adam Harley
Uddingston and Bellshill		Steven Bonnar		Mark Griffin [63]		Meghan Gallacher								David Baird (Independent) [53]

Regions

Seat	SNP		Labour		Conservative		Green		Lib Dem		Alba		Reform UK		Other
Central Scotland and Lothians West								Gillian Mackay, Claire Williams, Cameron Glasgow		Paul McGarry, Lucy Smith
Edinburgh and Lothians East								Lorna Slater, Kate Nevens, Q Manivannan, Chas Booth, Kayleigh O'Neill, Adam Al-Khateb, Mridul Wadhwa, Jo Phillips, Dan Heap, Astri JS Kvassnes, Alex Staniforth, Connal Hughes		Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, Jane Pickard, Charles Dundas, Lewis Younie
Glasgow								Patrick Harvie, Ellie Gomersall, Holly Bruce, Iris Duane, Seonad Hoy, Malena Roche, Rana Noor Mohamed, Isable Ruffell, Kit Renard		Daniel O'Malley, Brian Howieson, Paul Kennedy, James Spiers						Yvonne Ridley (WPGB), George Galloway (WPGB)
Highlands and Islands								Ariane Burgess, Kristopher Leask, Kate Willis, Draeyk Van der Horn, Alex Armitage, Anne Thomas, Julie Christie
Mid Scotland and Fife								Mark Ruskell, Mags Hall, Caitlin Ripley, Ryan Blackadder, Marie Stadtler, Clare Andrews, Andrew Adam, Paul Vallot, Elspeth Maclachlan		Claire McLaren
North East Scotland								Guy Ingerson, Maggie Chapman, Esme Houston, William Linegar, Sylvia Hardie, Kathryn Vincent, Charlotte Horne, Remi Salvan		Yi-pei Chou Turvey, Michael Turvey, Tanvir Ahmed, Marjory Millum, Jeff Goodhall
South Scotland								Laura Moodie, Anne McGuinness, Dominic Ashmole, Cameron Garrett, Barbra Harvie, Neil MacKinnon, Tim Clancey, Tom Kerr, Korin Vallance		Duncan Dunlop, Roy Georgeson, Aisha Mir, Richard Brodie, Charlotte Olcay
West Scotland								Ross Greer, Cara McKee, Karen Sharkey, Louise Andersen, Athol Bond, Ian Sinkins, Paula Baker, Ross Collins, Charley O'Hear

Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the next Scottish Parliament election

Constituency vote

Regional vote

Key

  SNP – Scottish National Party
  Conservative – Scottish Conservatives
  Labour – Scottish Labour
  Lib Dem – Scottish Liberal Democrats
  Green – Scottish Greens
  Alba – Alba Party
  Reform – Reform UK

See also

• 2024 United Kingdom general election in Scotland
• Next Senedd election
• Next Northern Ireland Assembly election

Notes

1. Originally elected as Scottish Green MSP

References

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74. https://labourlist.org/2025/08/scottish-parliament-holyrood-elections-2026-labour-party-candidates-who-my-local/
75. Scottish Labour [@ScottishLabour] (29 April 2025). "Congratulations to Shaun Fraser! Scottish Labour's candidate for Inverness and Nairn. #NewDirection" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
76. Stewart, Ruraidh [@Ruraidh_Stewart] (17 May 2025). "I'm deeply honoured to be selected as the @ScotTories candidate for Inverness and Nairn in #Holyrood2026.
    The Highlands are my home and I'm standing to give our communities the strong, local voice they deserve in Holyrood. It's time for real change" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
77. Pack, Mark (13 May 2025). "Neil Alexander selected for Inverness and Nairn". Mark Pack.
78. "SNP's Fergus Ewing to run as an independent in Scottish elections". BBC News. 20 June 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
79. McPhee, Ewan (23 August 2025). "It's a huge privilege to have been selected by local members as the @ScottishLabour candidate for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley. I grew up in Kilmarnock and I'm here to win this seat in next year's elections. The choice in 2026 is more of the same or a new direction for Scotland". x.com. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
80. Moray Conservatives [@MorayTories] (12 May 2025). "We are delighted to announce Tim Eagle has been selected as the Moray candidate for next year's Scottish Parliament elections.
    We look forward to meeting as many Moravians as we can in the next year as we campaign across Moray" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
81. "Robert Leslie to Contest Orkney Constituency for the SNP". The Orkney News. 15 May 2025.
82. https://x.com/jhalcrojohnston/status/1957029019544629641
83. McCall, Roz [@RozMccall] (1 May 2025). "📣 I'm honoured to have been selected as the Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire ahead of the 2026 election.
    Thank you to @mspliz for her dedication and hard work as the Candidate over many years.
    I've always stood up for our communities as a regional MSP and will continue to do so. I am ready to work hard to earn your trust and deliver the strong local voice you deserve. 💙
    #TeamRoz #PerthshireSouth #Kinrossshire #ScotConservatives" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
84. Gosal, Pam [@PamGosalMSP] (12 May 2025). "It's a great honour to have been selected as the @ScotTories candidate for Strathkelvin and Bearsden for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.
    As an MSP for West Scotland I have always worked hard on the things that really matter to local residents and businesses. I promise to continue to fight for common sense 💪🏼💙" (Tweet) – via Twitter.