5th Scottish Parliament
Legislature elected in 2016
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This is a list of members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) who were returned to the fifth session of the Scottish Parliament. Of the 129 MSPs returned at the 2016 general election, 73 were returned from first past the post constituencies with a further 56 members returned from eight regions, each electing seven MSPs as a form of mixed member proportional representation.
Legislative bodyScottish Parliament
JurisdictionScotland
Meeting placeScottish Parliament Building
Term12 May 2016 – 5 May 2021[1]
| 5th Scottish Parliament | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
Members elected to the Scottish Parliament on 5 May 2016 | |||||
| Overview | |||||
| Legislative body | Scottish Parliament | ||||
| Jurisdiction | Scotland | ||||
| Meeting place | Scottish Parliament Building | ||||
| Term | 12 May 2016 – 5 May 2021[1] | ||||
| Election | 2016 | ||||
| Government | Second Sturgeon government | ||||
| Members | 129 | ||||
| Presiding Officer | Rt Hon Ken Macintosh | ||||
| First Minister | Nicola Sturgeon | ||||
| Deputy First Minister | John Swinney | ||||
| Leader of the largest opposition party | Ruth Davidson (2016–18) Jackson Carlaw (2018–19) Ruth Davidson (2019) Jackson Carlaw (2019–20) Ruth Davidson (2020–21) | ||||
Parliament reconvened on 12 May 2016 with the swearing-in of MSPs and the election of the presiding officer and two deputy presiding officers.[2] Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the fifth session on 2 July 2016.[3]
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Composition
| Party | May 2016 election |
May 2021 dissolution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| • | Scottish National Party | 63 | 61 |
| Scottish Conservatives | 31 | 30 | |
| Scottish Labour | 24[a] | 23[b] | |
| Scottish Greens | 6 | 5 | |
| Scottish Liberal Democrats | 5 | 5 | |
| Reform UK | 0 | 1 | |
| Independent | 0 | 3 | |
| Presiding Officer | 0 | 1 | |
| Total | 129 | ||
| Government majority | −3 | −6 | |
Government parties denoted with bullets (•)
Graphical representation
These are graphical representations of the Scottish Parliament showing a comparison of party strengths as it was directly after the 2016 general election and its composition at dissolution:
- Note this is not the official seating plan of the Scottish Parliament.
List of MSPs
This is a list of MSPs. The changes table below records all changes in party affiliation during the session, since the May 2016 election.
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Former MSPs
| Name | Image | Member for | Type | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kezia Dugdale |  |
Lothian | Regional | Labour Co-op | Resigned 15 July 2019 | |
| Alex Johnstone |  |
North East Scotland | Regional | Conservative | Died 7 December 2016 | |
| John Lamont |  |
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Constituency | Conservative | Resigned 27 April 2017 | |
| Douglas Ross |  |
Highlands and Islands | Regional | Conservative | Resigned 11 June 2017 | |
| Tavish Scott |  |
Shetland | Constituency | Liberal Democrats | Resigned 15 July 2019 | |
| Ross Thomson |  |
North East Scotland | Regional | Conservative | Resigned 12 June 2017 | |
Changes
| Date | Constituency/region | Gain | Loss | Note | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 May 2016 | West Scotland | Presiding Officer | Labour Co-op | Ken Macintosh was elected Presiding Officer and consequently had to renounce his party affiliation.[4][5] | ||
| 7 December 2016 | North East Scotland | Conservative | Conservative | Alex Johnstone died on 7 December 2016, aged 55.[6] It was announced on 13 December that the Conservatives had nominated Bill Bowman to replace Johnstone.[7] Bowman was sworn in on 21 December.[8] | ||
| 27 April 2017 | Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Conservative | Conservative | John Lamont resigned his seat, effective 4 May 2017, in order to contest the 2017 UK general election.[9] This triggered a by-election in his Scottish Parliament seat, which was held on the same day as the UK general election (8 June 2017).[9] Rachael Hamilton won the seat. | ||
| 2 May 2017 | South Scotland | Conservative | Conservative | Rachael Hamilton resigned her list seat in order to contest the 2017 Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election on 8 June.[10] She was replaced by Michelle Ballantyne,[11] who was sworn in on 23 May.[12] | ||
| 11 June 2017 | Highlands and Islands | Conservative | Conservative | Douglas Ross resigned his seat in the Scottish Parliament, having won election to the UK Parliament in the 2017 general election.[13] Ross was succeeded by Jamie Halcro Johnston, who was sworn in on 20 June.[14] | ||
| 12 June 2017 | North East Scotland | Conservative | Conservative | Ross Thomson resigned his seat in the Scottish Parliament, having won election to the UK Parliament in the 2017 general election.[13] Thomson was succeeded by Tom Mason, who was sworn in on 20 June.[14] | ||
| 15 November 2017 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Independent | Labour | Alex Rowley was suspended by Labour due to allegations about his conduct.[15] | ||
| 16 November 2017 | Aberdeen Donside | Independent | SNP | Mark McDonald was suspended by the SNP due to allegations about his conduct,[16] and he subsequently resigned his membership of the SNP.[17] | ||
| 19 December 2017 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Labour | Independent | Alex Rowley was reinstated by Labour.[18] | ||
| 15 July 2019 | Lothian | Labour Co-op | Labour Co-op | Kezia Dugdale resigned her seat in the Scottish Parliament, taking a job with a think-tank.[19] Dugale was succeeded by Sarah Boyack.[19] | ||
| 15 July 2019 | Shetland | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott resigned his seat in the Scottish Parliament, taking a job with Scottish Rugby.[20] This triggered a by-election, which was won Beatrice Wishart. | ||
| 6 February 2020 | Renfrewshire North and West | Independent | SNP | Derek Mackay was suspended by the SNP due to allegations about his conduct.[21] | ||
| 24 November 2020 | South Scotland | Independent | Conservative | Michelle Ballantyne left the Conservative Party due to disagreements over policy relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.[22] | ||
| 18 December 2020 | Lothian | Independent | Green | Andy Wightman resigned from the Scottish Green Party due to disagreements over policy relating to transgender rights.[23] | ||
| 11 January 2021 | South Scotland | Reform | Independent | Michelle Ballantyne joined Reform UK (formerly known as the Brexit Party) and was appointed leader of Reform UK Scotland.[24] | ||
Notes
- Includes 13 MSPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative.
- Includes 12 MSPs sponsored by the Co-operative Party, who are designated Labour and Co-operative.