| 6th Scottish Parliament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Scottish Parliament | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Scotland | ||||
| Meeting place | Scottish Parliament Building | ||||
| Term | 13 May 2021 – | ||||
| Election | 2021 | ||||
| Government | Third Sturgeon government First Yousaf government Second Yousaf government Swinney government | ||||
| Members | 129 | ||||
| Presiding Officer | Alison Johnstone | ||||
| First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon (2021–2023) Humza Yousaf (2023–2024) John Swinney (2024–present) | ||||
| Deputy First Minister | John Swinney (2021–2023) Shona Robison (2023–2024) Kate Forbes (2024–present) | ||||
| Leader of the Opposition | Douglas Ross (2021–2024) Russell Findlay (2024–present) | ||||
| Sessions | |||||
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The6th Scottish Parliament was elected at the2021 Scottish Parliament election.[1] It was opened with the Escort to the Crown of Scotland Parade and Speech from the Throne on 2 October 2021.
| Party | May 2021 election | Currently | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • | Scottish National Party | 64 | 60 |
| Scottish Conservatives | 31 | 28 | |
| Scottish Labour | 22 | 21 | |
| Scottish Greens | 8 | 7 | |
| Scottish Liberal Democrats | 4 | 5 | |
| Reform UK | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent | 0 | 6 | |
| Presiding Officer | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 129 | ||
| Government majority | 0 | – 8 | |
Government parties denoted with bullets (•)
This is a list of MSPs so far elected.[3] Thechanges table below records all changes in party affiliation during the session, since theMay 2021 election.
There are eight MSPs who have been constant members since the inauguration of the Parliament in 1999 (ten other founding members retired prior to the 2021 election):Jackie Baillie,Fergus Ewing andJohn Swinney have been elected six times under the same constituency (Swinney's was renamed with different boundaries in 2011);Christine Grahame,Fiona Hyslop,Michael Matheson,Shona Robison andNicola Sturgeon were returned as a list member then a constituency member. A ninth MSPRichard Lochhead has served almost the same term, resigning his list seat in 2006 to successfully contest a by-election a few weeks later for a constituency seat, which he has defended since then.[4]
| Name | Image | Member for | Type | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dean Lockhart |  | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Conservatives | Resigned 5 September 2022[5] | |
| Donald Cameron |  | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Conservatives | Resigned 9 February 2024[6] | |
| Christina McKelvie |  | Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse | Constituency | Scottish National Party | Died 27 March 2025[7] | |
| Date | Constituency/region | Gain | Loss | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 May 2021 | Lothian | Presiding Officer | Green | Alison Johnstone was electedPresiding Officer and consequently had to renounce her party affiliation.[8] | ||
| 5 September 2022 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Conservative | Conservative | Dean Lockhart resigned his seat in the Scottish Parliament.[5] He was succeeded byRoz McCall, who was sworn in on 20 September.[9] | ||
| 28 October 2023 | Edinburgh Eastern | Alba | SNP | Ash Regan defected from the SNP to Alba, becoming the party's first MSP.[10] | ||
| 9 February 2024 | Highlands and Islands | Conservative | Conservative | Donald Cameron was appointed to theHouse of Lords in the2024 Special Honours and was replaced byTim Eagle.[6] | ||
| 17 August 2024 | Glasgow Shettleston | Independent | SNP | John Mason had whip suspended over Gaza comments.[11] | ||
| 4 April 2025 | West Scotland | Liberal Democrats | Conservative | Jamie Greene left the Conservative Party due to his disagreement with it becoming "Trump-esque in both style and substance", and joined the Liberal Democrats the next day.[12] | ||
| 6 June 2025 | Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse | Labour | SNP | Davy Russell won theHamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election following the death of SNP MSPChristina McKelvie.[13] | ||
| 20 June 2025 | Inverness and Nairn | Independent | SNP | Fergus Ewing announced he would stand as an independent in the 2026 parliament election. Ewing said he had not quit the SNP, but a party source said his membership automatically ceased when he announced his independent run, a violation of the SNP's party constitution.[14] | ||
| 20 August 2025 | South Scotland | Independent | Labour | Colin Smyth was suspended from the Labour Party after being charged with possession of indecent images.[15] | ||
| 22 August 2025 | Lothian | Independent | Conservative | Jeremy Balfour resigned from the Scottish Conservatives due to disagreements over policy and direction[16] | ||
| 27 August 2025 | Central Scotland | Reform | Conservative | Graham Simpson resigned from the Scottish Conservatives and joined Reform UK[17] | ||
| 27 September 2025 | Lothian | Independent | Labour | Foysol Choudhury was suspended from the Labour Party over an allegation of inappropriate conduct pending an investigation.[18] | ||
| 10 October 2025 | Edinburgh Eastern | Independent | Alba | Ash Regan resigned from the Alba Party to focus on the Prostitution (Offences and Support) (Scotland) Bill.[19] | ||
| 1st Parliament (1999–2003) |
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| 2nd Parliament (2003–2007) |
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| 3rd Parliament (2007–2011) |
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| 4th Parliament (2011–2016) |
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| 5th Parliament (2016–2021) |
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| 6th Parliament (2021–2026) |
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