VoteScot

Former special adviser to First Ministers Humza Yousaf and John Swinney. Age 30. Previously worked for MSP Maureen Watt.

SNP Westminster leader since December 2022 and MP for Aberdeen South since 2019. Standing for Holyrood in 2026. Previously SNP group leader on Aberdeen City Council.

MSP for Aberdeen Donside since May 2021, winning the seat after her predecessor Mark McDonald stood down. Born in Peterhead and educated in Elgin, she served as an Aberdeen City councillor for the Northfield ward from 2007 and was deputy leader of the SNP group on the council.

MSP for Aberdeenshire East since 2016, succeeding the late Alex Salmond. Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy. Former further education lecturer.

Aberdeenshire councillor for Westhill and District since 2022. Worked across European Parliament, Westminster, and Scottish Parliament. Tops SNP North East regional list.

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care since February 2024. MSP for Airdrie and Shotts since 2021, previously the Westminster MP for the same seat (2015-2021).

Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs since 2023 and MSP for Almond Valley since 2011 (previously MSP for Livingston from 2007 to 2011, before the Almond Valley constituency was created). A former social worker by profession, Constance has held multiple cabinet roles including Education, Communities, and Social Security. She also serves as the SNP's Business Convener (party chair) since 2023, overseeing party management and election campaigns.

Aberdeenshire councillor for Stonehaven and Lower Deeside. Standing for Angus North and Mearns in her first bid for the Scottish Parliament.

Monifieth and Sidlaw councillor since 2022. Born in 2001, one of Scotland's youngest councillors at 24.

MSP for Argyll and Bute since 2021. Minister for Public Health and Women's Health since March 2023. Worked at BBC Scotland for 18 years helping to establish BBC Alba.

MSP for Ayr since 2021 and Minister for Victims and Community Safety since March 2023. Defeated the Conservatives' longest-serving MSP by 170 votes. Former South Ayrshire councillor.

MSP for Banffshire and Buchan Coast since 2021. First MSP to take the oath of affirmation in British Sign Language. Convener of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee.

West Lothian SNP deputy group leader. Bathgate councillor. Tops the SNP Central Scotland and Lothians West regional list.

MSP since 2016 for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. Has held continuous ministerial roles since 2017 including Children and Young People, Public Health, and Social Care. Former mental health pharmacist.

Dumfries and Galloway councillor for Mid Galloway and Wigtown West.

SNP Depute Leader since 2018 and MSP since 2007. Former Royal Marine who served in the Falklands War. Has held multiple Cabinet Secretary roles including Justice, Economy, and Infrastructure.

MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie since 2021, the constituency's first female MSP. Former hospice nurse and prominent asbestos awareness campaigner.

SNP Cabinet Secretary and MSP for Clydesdale since 2021, McAllan is one of the youngest members of the Scottish Cabinet. A former corporate solicitor who also served as a special adviser to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, she has held the environment, net zero, and transport portfolios since entering Parliament and was appointed Cabinet Secretary for Housing in 2025.

MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston since 2016, the first SNP MSP ever elected for the constituency. Re-elected in 2021 with 57% vote share. Former social worker.

SNP councillor for Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay. Convener of South West Fife area committee. Senior environmental consultant specialising in flood risk.

MSP since 2007 for Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. Has held multiple ministerial roles including Minister for Independence and Minister for Higher and Further Education.

One of Scotland's longest-serving MSPs, in parliament since 1999. Convener of the Finance and Public Administration Committee. Won Cunninghame North in 2007 by just 48 votes.

Former MP for North Ayrshire and Arran (2015-2024). SNP Shadow Secretary of State for Housing and Attorney General Spokesperson at Westminster. Former English teacher for over 20 years.

West Dunbartonshire councillor for Clydebank Central since 2022.

Dumfries and Galloway councillor for Annandale North. Co-leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council. Website builder.

Currently MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. Previously MP for North East Fife (2015-2019), re-elected in 2017 by just two votes. SNP foreign affairs spokesperson and former special adviser to First Ministers Nicola Sturgeon and the late Alex Salmond.

Briefly served as MEP for Scotland in January 2020 (four days before Brexit). Dundee councillor, welfare rights officer and organic farmer.

Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice since 2023 and MSP for Dunfermline since 2016. A long-standing SNP member who joined the party at 16, Somerville previously served as Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (2021-2023) and Cabinet Secretary for Social Security and Older People (2018-2021). She worked in housing policy and public affairs before entering Parliament.

MSP for East Kilbride since May 2021. Raised in East Kilbride and a University of the West of Scotland business graduate, she served as a South Lanarkshire councillor for East Kilbride Central South from 2017 and was depute provost before entering Holyrood.

MSP for East Lothian since 2021, the first SNP MSP for the constituency. Former Minister for Housing (2023-2025). Long-serving East Lothian councillor since 2007.

Former MP for East Renfrewshire (2015-2017 and 2019-2024). Unseated Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy in 2015. SNP deputy Westminster leader (2020-2022) and Business Convener (2018-2023).

MSP for Edinburgh Central since 2021. Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs. MP for Moray (2001-2017) and SNP Westminster leader (2007-2017). Led party through 2014 independence referendum.

Edinburgh city councillor for Portobello/Craigmillar. Former Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener. Led the campaign to regulate Airbnb-style short-term lets in Edinburgh.

MSP for Edinburgh Northern and Leith since 2016. A former commercial lawyer, Macpherson has held a series of ministerial roles covering migration, public finance, rural affairs, and social security. He returned to government as Minister for Higher and Further Education in September 2025 after two years on the backbenches.

East Lothian SNP group leader and councillor since 2022. Rose through ranks to become leader of the opposition on East Lothian Council. First-time Holyrood candidate.

Edinburgh councillor and cafe owner. Education spokesman. Former pupil support assistant.

Edinburgh city councillor for Southside/Newington since 2022. SNP group leader on Edinburgh Council — first woman and first person of colour to lead a council group in the city. Programme Manager at Public Health Scotland.

Former MP for Edinburgh North and Leith (2015-2024). First SNP representative to hold that seat. Former Deputy Lord Provost of Edinburgh.

First-time candidate from Gordon in the Scottish Borders. Grew up with ties to agriculture and forestry. Previously worked in hospitality and the Scottish Parliament.

Former MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk (2015-2024). SNP health spokesperson at Westminster. Former personal banking manager and West Lothian councillor from 1999.

Falkirk councillor for Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst since 2017. Housing spokesperson. Former joiner and building preservation specialist.

SNP councillor for Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch. Glenrothes Area Committee convener.

Regional MSP for South Scotland since 2016. Registered nurse with experience at NHS Scotland and Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. Returned to frontline nursing during COVID-19.

SNP councillor for Giffnock and Thornliebank in East Renfrewshire.

Former MP for Glasgow East (2017-2024). SNP welfare and housing spokesperson at Westminster. Youngest SNP MP when first elected at age 27.

Zen Ghani is the SNP councillor for Pollokshields ward on Glasgow City Council, elected in 2022. He is also on the SNP Glasgow regional list. As a councillor he has worked on local sports-pitch upgrades in East Pollokshields and on community-safety issues including fireworks controls.

Former MP for Glasgow Central (2015-2024) who is now standing for the Scottish Parliament. During nearly a decade at Westminster, Thewliss served as SNP spokesperson on home affairs and the Treasury. Before entering Parliament she was a Glasgow City councillor for the Calton ward from 2007.

MSP for Glasgow Provan since 2016. Minister for Public Finance since May 2024. Background in manufacturing engineering and international business consultancy.

MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn since 2016, having previously served as a regional MSP for Glasgow from 2007. A former Modern Studies teacher of ten years, Doris was educated at the University of Glasgow and St Andrew's Teaching College. Deputy convener of the Social Justice and Social Security Committee.

MSP for Glasgow Kelvin since 2021. Minister for Equalities since May 2024. One of the first women of colour elected to the Scottish Parliament. Former primary teacher for nearly 30 years.

SNP National Secretary. Worked for late MSP Christina McKelvie. Glasgow councillor.

MSP since 2007, representing Greenock and Inverclyde from 2016. First SNP member to win the constituency. Convener of the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.

Youngest MSP elected in 2021 at age 23 for Highlands and Islands. Former Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees. Experienced homelessness as a teenager.

Born and raised in Kilmarnock, he is a civil engineering graduate of the University of Glasgow who served as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2015 to 2024, acting as SNP spokesperson on Energy and Climate Change at Westminster. He stood as an East Ayrshire councillor for Irvine Valley from 2007.

MSP for Kirkcaldy since 2011, when he defeated the incumbent Labour MSP to take the seat for the SNP for the first time. Born in Kirkcaldy and a former mechanical engineer at British Gas, Alcan Chemicals and Bosch Rexroth, he served on Fife Council from 1995 until his election to Holyrood.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills since 2023 and MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes since 2016. A former secondary school teacher and head of department in Fife, Gilruth previously served as Minister for Culture (2020-2022) and Minister for Transport (2022-2023). She brings direct classroom experience to her education brief.

MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh since 2011 and former SNP National Treasurer. Originally from Forfar, he spent 23 years in international banking across the Middle East and Asia before entering politics. Elected to Midlothian Council in 2007, where he led the SNP group before becoming an MSP.

Former MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (2015-2017). SNP Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson. IT industry background.

Born and raised in Moray. Works in Richard Lochhead MSP's constituency office. Media and Communications graduate.

MSP since 2011 for Motherwell and Wishaw. Convener of the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee. Background in computer science.

Long-serving MSP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar since 2007. Former Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages. Gaelic speaker with a PhD in Scots Language.

Energy officer at Orkney Housing Association. Former reporter and editor at The Orcadian. Born in Orkney. Fourth electoral bid for the SNP.

MSP for Paisley since 2011 and former Minister for Parliamentary Business (2021-2024). Elected a Renfrewshire councillor for Paisley South in 2007, he served as SNP Chief Whip from 2018 before entering government. A lifelong St Mirren supporter, he helped lead the 2016 fan takeover of the club.

First Minister of Scotland since May 2024 and leader of the SNP. A veteran of Scottish politics, Swinney has been an MSP since 1999 and previously served as SNP leader (2000-2004), Deputy First Minister (2014-2023), and Cabinet Secretary for Finance. He is one of the longest-serving members of the Scottish Parliament.

MSP for Perthshire South and Kinross-shire since 2021. Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity since February 2024. Hill farmer who founded Perth Farmers' Market in 1996.

Renfrewshire councillor for Erskine and Inchinnan since 2017. NHS nurse with 20 years' experience. Convener of Infrastructure, Land and Environment Board.

MSP for Renfrewshire South since 2016. Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing since June 2025. Previously Minister for Public Finance (2021-2025). Trained musician.

MSP for Rutherglen since 2016. Former Minister for Mental Health (2018-2021) and Minister for Children and Young People (2021-2023). Trained mental health nurse.

Shetland-born energy professional. Worked for Norwegian company Equinor for 11 years in oil, gas, renewables and carbon capture. Proposes a Shetland Energy Act.

Fluent Gaelic speaker and traditional musician with a background in media and politics. Selected after Kate Forbes stepped down.

Former commercial lawyer and Scotland's longest-serving MEP (2004-2019) before becoming MP for Stirling (2019-2024), when he ousted incumbent Tory Stephen Kerr. A former SNP depute leader candidate, he has been selected to stand for Stirling at Holyrood as Evelyn Tweed steps down.

North Lanarkshire councillor for Kilsyth and the Villages. Assistant pub manager.

Former MP for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (2019-2024). SNP agriculture and environment spokesperson. Former North Lanarkshire councillor from 2015.