Holyrood 2026 election: Who are the Labour MSPs standing down?

The next election to the Scottish Parliament is less than a year away and, with selections underway, some Labour MSPs have announced their intention to stand down when polling day comes around on May 7.

Labour secured 22 seats at the last election, with Anas Sarwar trying to pitch himself as an alternative First Minister to the SNP’s John Swinney. However, Scottish Labour is currently struggling in the polls – with a Survation poll at the start of May putting them 14 points behind the SNP and tied with Reform UK.

Currently, three Labour MSPs have announced their intention to stand down:

Richard Leonard (Central Scotland)

Former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard announced in March he would stand down as an MSP at next years’ election.

Prior to his election as a regional MSP for Central Scotland in 2016, Leonard served as the chair of Scottish Labour from 2002 to 2003. He was an opponent of the Iraq War and marched against the conflict. A year after he was elected to Holyrood, Leonard defeated Anas Sarwar in the Scottish Labour leadership election.

In the run-up to the 2019 European election, leaked WhatsApp messages exposed friction over Leonard’s choice to echo Corbyn’s ‘soft Brexit’ position. The party lost both its MEPs in Scotland at the election, with Leonard accepting responsibility and pivoting Scottish Labour as pro-Remain.

Leonard carried on as leader after the 2019 general election, which saw Labour reduced to holding a single seat. However, a chorus of Labour figures, including Rachel Reeves, called on him to resign in early 2020, prompting Leonard to accuse critics of attempting to spark an “internal war” and suggested MSPs could be deselected for disloyalty. He resigned as leader in January 2021, ahead of that year’s Holyrood elections, stating the move was “not an easy decision” but the “right one for me and for the party”.

In a statement announcing his plan not to stand for re-election next year, Leonard said he would continue to “stand for the causes I believe in”.

“From the miners’ strike 40 years ago to the battle today for jobs at Grangemouth, I have always been on the side of the people – and I always will be. I am proud of the work I have been involved with and it has been an honour to have the opportunity to do it. I remain convinced that we can and we will have a better, a more equal, a more democratic, a socialist society.”

READ MORE: ‘Progressivism or bust: Why Blue Labour is the wrong answer to Reform surge’

Alex Rowley (Mid Scotland and Fife)

Former deputy leader for Scottish Labour and former acting leader of the party Alex Rowley announced in March he would stand down as an MSP at next years’ election.

Prior to his election, Rowley served as Scottish Labour general secretary for a year between 1998 and 1999 and as the first leader of Fife Council. He was elected as an MSP for Cowdenbeath at a by-election in 2014 and won the deputy leadership election the following year. At the 2016 Holyrood election, Rowley became a regional MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

After Kezia Dugdale resigned as Scottish Labour leader in 2017, Rowley became acting leader. During the leadership election, Rowley was taped without permission at the 2017 Labour Party conference in Brighton describing Richard Leonard as the “best candidate”. Rowley later apologised for the recording.

Rowley served served as party spokesperson for communities and local government between October 2018 and September 2019, before becoming spokesperson for Brexit and constitutional relations. After Anas Sarwar became leader, Rowley became shadow cabinet secretary for transport, infrastructure and connectivity.

Announcing his intention not to stand for re-election, Rowley said: “It has been an honour and the privilege to serve as a member of the Scottish Parliament over the last 11 years. Throughout my career in politics, I have strived to improve the areas I call home and represent the people I live alongside, trying wherever possible to ensure their voices are heard in decision making and that where support is needed it is provided.”

READ MORE: Full list of Labour candidates for Holyrood

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands)

Long-serving MSP Rhoda Grant announced in May she would stand down from the Scottish Parliament at next year’s election.

Grant was one of the first MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, elected to a list seat for the Highlands and Islands in 1999. She lost her seat at the election in 2003, but returned to Holyrood in 2007 as a regional MSP for the same region.

Grant served as shadow minister for parliamentary business for just shy of a year between 2017 and 2018, and also served as spokesperson for finance between 2019 and 2020 and spokesperson for justice between 2020 and 2021. She currently serves as the Scottish Labour spokesperson for rural affairs, land reform and islands.

In October last year, Grant was one of five Labour MSPs who were absent from a vote in the Scottish Parliament, calling on the Labour government to reverse its decision to means-test the winter fuel allowance.

Announcing her plan to not stand for re-election, Grant said she wanted to make way for others.

She said: “After thinking long and hard about the demands of this role, I do not feel I can continue to give the time and commitment required to do it justice and therefore hand on the baton to others and will not stand at the next Scottish Parliament election.”

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