2026 Scottish Parliament election
The 2026 Scottish Parliament election is due to be held on Thursday 7 May 2026, and will 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, although only five won seats at the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021: the Scottish National Party 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 the main five parties, four have changed their leaders since the 2021 election. In addition, Reform UK have one MSP following a defection from the Conservatives. Six members sit as independents after leaving or being suspended or expelled from their respective parties. Ash Regan left the SNP for Alba before later becoming an independent.
Background
Electoral events
Other elections
Two further elections affecting Scotland took place between the 2021 and 2026 Scottish Parliament elections:Date
Under the Scottish Elections 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. This Act superseded the Scotland Act 1998, which had set elections in every fourth year. 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.If Parliament itself resolves that it should be dissolved, with at least two-thirds of the 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 b and s46. If no new First Minister was elected then the Presiding Officer would ask for Parliament to be dissolved under s3a. This process could also be triggered if the First Minister lost a vote of confidence by a simple majority, as they must then resign. 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.
Retiring MSPs
A record number of MSPs are not seeking re-election, with 39 as of December 2025. Eight of those stepping down were first elected at the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, but only five have had unbroken service. Richard Lochhead briefly resigned his regional seat to contest a Moray by-election in 2006; Rhoda Grant lost her seat in 2003 and returned at the 2007 election; Sarah Boyack lost her seat in the 2016 election and returned in 2019. Of the original MSPs from 1999 with unbroken service, there are only three contesting the 2026 election: Jackie Baillie, Fergus Ewing and John Swinney.Parties
Contesting constituency and/or regional ballot
As of January 2026, the following political parties have announced candidates for the election:Election system, seats, and regions
The total number of Members of the Scottish Parliament elected to the Parliament is 129. The Scottish Parliament uses an additional member system, designed to produce approximate proportional representation for each region. There are eight regions, each sub-divided into smaller constituencies. There are a total of 73 constituencies. Each constituency elects one MSP by the plurality system of election. Each region elects seven additional MSPs using an additional member system. A modified D'Hondt method, using the constituency results, is used to elect these additional MSPs.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. 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, 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. The proposals were formally approved in October 2025, establishing the constituencies and regions that will form the basis for the 2026 election.
Opinion polling
;KeySNP – Scottish National Party
Conservative – Scottish Conservatives
Labour – Scottish Labour
Lib Dem – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Green – Scottish Greens
Alba – Alba Party
Reform – Reform UK