# 5th Scottish Parliament

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.
Parliament reconvened on 12 May 2016 with the swearing-in of MSPs and the election of the presiding officer and two deputy presiding officers. Queen Elizabeth II formally opened the fifth session on 2 July 2016.

## Composition

| Party | Party | May 2016 election | May 2021 dissolution |
| • | Scottish National Party | 63 | 61 |
| | Scottish Conservatives | 31 | 30 |
| | Scottish Labour | 24 | 23 |
| | Scottish Greens | 6 | 5 |
| | Scottish Liberal Democrats | 5 | 5 |
| | Reform UK | 0 | 1 |
| | Independent | 0 | 3 |
| | Presiding Officer | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 129 | 129 |
| Government majority | 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.
| Name | Member for | Type | Party |
| George Adam | Paisley | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Clare Adamson | Motherwell and Wishaw | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Alasdair Allan | Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Tom Arthur | Renfrewshire South | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Jackie Baillie | Dumbarton | Constituency | Scottish Labour Party |
| Claire Baker | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Jeremy Balfour | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Michelle Ballantyne | South Scotland (since 23/05/17) | Regional | Reform UK |
| Claudia Beamish | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Colin Beattie | Midlothian North and Musselburgh | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Neil Bibby | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Bill Bowman | North East Scotland (since 21/12/16) | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Sarah Boyack | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Miles Briggs | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Keith Brown | Clackmannanshire and Dunblane | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Alexander Burnett | Aberdeenshire West | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Donald Cameron | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Aileen Campbell | Clydesdale | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Jackson Carlaw | Eastwood | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Finlay Carson | Galloway and West Dumfries | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Peter Chapman | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Willie Coffey | Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Alex Cole-Hamilton | Edinburgh Western | Constituency | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Angela Constance | Almond Valley | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Maurice Corry | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Bruce Crawford | Stirling | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Roseanna Cunningham | Perthshire South and Kinross-shire | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Ruth Davidson | Edinburgh Central | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Ash Denham | Edinburgh Eastern | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Graeme Dey | Angus South | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Bob Doris | Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| James Dornan | Glasgow Cathcart | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Annabelle Ewing | Cowdenbeath | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Fergus Ewing | Inverness and Nairn | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Linda Fabiani | East Kilbride | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Mary Fee | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Neil Findlay | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| John Finnie | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Green Party |
| Joe FitzPatrick | Dundee City West | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Kate Forbes | Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Murdo Fraser | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Jeane Freeman | Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Kenneth Gibson | Cunninghame North | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Jenny Gilruth | Mid Fife and Glenrothes | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Maurice Golden | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Mairi Gougeon (elected as Mairi Evans) | Angus North and Mearns | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Christine Grahame | Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Rhoda Grant | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Iain Gray | East Lothian | Constituency | Scottish Labour Party |
| Jamie Greene | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Ross Greer | West Scotland | Regional | Scottish Green Party |
| Mark Griffin | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Jamie Halcro Johnston | Highlands and Islands (since 20/06/17) | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Rachael Hamilton | Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Emma Harper | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish National Party |
| Alison Harris | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Patrick Harvie | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Green Party |
| Clare Haughey | Rutherglen | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Jamie Hepburn | Cumbernauld and Kilsyth | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Fiona Hyslop | Linlithgow | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Daniel Johnson | Edinburgh Southern | Constituency | Scottish Labour Party |
| Alison Johnstone | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Green Party |
| James Kelly | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Liam Kerr | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Bill Kidd | Glasgow Anniesland | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Johann Lamont | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Monica Lennon | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Richard Leonard | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Gordon Lindhurst | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Richard Lochhead | Moray | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Dean Lockhart | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Richard Lyle | Uddingston and Bellshill | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Angus MacDonald | Falkirk East | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Gordon MacDonald | Edinburgh Pentlands | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Lewis Macdonald | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Fulton MacGregor | Coatbridge and Chryston | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Ken Macintosh | West Scotland | Regional | Presiding Officer |
| Derek Mackay | Renfrewshire North and West | Constituency | Independent |
| Rona Mackay | Strathkelvin and Bearsden | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Ben Macpherson | Edinburgh North and Leith | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Ruth Maguire | Cunninghame South | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Jenny Marra | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Gillian Martin | Aberdeenshire East | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| John Mason | Glasgow Shettleston | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Tom Mason | North East Scotland (since 20/06/17) | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Michael Matheson | Falkirk West | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Joan McAlpine | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish National Party |
| Liam McArthur | Orkney | Constituency | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Mark McDonald | Aberdeen Donside | Constituency | Independent |
| Ivan McKee | Glasgow Provan | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Christina McKelvie | Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Stuart McMillan | Greenock and Inverclyde | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Pauline McNeill | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Margaret Mitchell | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Edward Mountain | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Oliver Mundell | Dumfriesshire | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Alex Neil | Airdrie and Shotts | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Gil Paterson | Clydebank and Milngavie | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Willie Rennie | North East Fife | Constituency | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Shona Robison | Dundee City East | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Gail Ross | Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Alex Rowley | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Mike Rumbles | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Mark Ruskell | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Green Party |
| Michael Russell | Argyll and Bute | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Anas Sarwar | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| John Scott | Ayr | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Graham Simpson | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Elaine Smith | Central Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Liz Smith | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Colin Smyth | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Shirley-Anne Somerville | Dunfermline | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Stewart Stevenson | Banffshire and Buchan Coast | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Alexander Stewart | Mid Scotland and Fife | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| David Stewart | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Labour Party |
| Kevin Stewart | Aberdeen Central | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Nicola Sturgeon | Glasgow Southside | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| John Swinney | Perthshire North | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Maree Todd | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish National Party |
| Adam Tomkins | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| David Torrance | Kirkcaldy | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Maureen Watt | Aberdeen South and North Kincardine | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Annie Wells | Glasgow | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Paul Wheelhouse | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish National Party |
| Sandra White | Glasgow Kelvin | Constituency | Scottish National Party |
| Brian Whittle | South Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party |
| Andy Wightman | Lothian | Regional | Independent |
| Beatrice Wishart | Shetland | Constituency | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Humza Yousaf | Glasgow Pollok | Constituency | Scottish National Party |

### Former MSPs

| Name | Member for | Type | Party | Notes |
| Kezia Dugdale | Lothian | Regional | Scottish Labour Party | Resigned 15 July 2019 |
| Alex Johnstone | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Died 7 December 2016 |
| John Lamont | Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Constituency | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Resigned 27 April 2017 |
| Douglas Ross | Highlands and Islands | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Resigned 11 June 2017 |
| Tavish Scott | Shetland | Constituency | Scottish Liberal Democrats | Resigned 15 July 2019 |
| Ross Thomson | North East Scotland | Regional | Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party | Resigned 12 June 2017 |

## Changes

| Date | Constituency/region | Gain | Loss | Note |
| 12 May 2016 | West Scotland | Presiding Officer | Labour | Ken Macintosh was elected Presiding Officer and consequently had to renounce his party affiliation. |
| 7 December 2016 | North East Scotland | Conservative | Conservative | Alex Johnstone died on 7 December 2016, aged 55. It was announced on 13 December that the Conservatives had nominated Bill Bowman to replace Johnstone. Bowman was sworn in on 21 December. |
| 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. 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). 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. She was replaced by Michelle Ballantyne, who was sworn in on 23 May. |
| 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. Ross was succeeded by Jamie Halcro Johnston, who was sworn in on 20 June. |
| 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. Thomson was succeeded by Tom Mason, who was sworn in on 20 June. |
| 15 November 2017 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Independent | Labour | Alex Rowley was suspended by Labour due to allegations about his conduct. |
| 16 November 2017 | Aberdeen Donside | Independent | SNP | Mark McDonald was suspended by the SNP due to allegations about his conduct, and he subsequently resigned his membership of the SNP. |
| 19 December 2017 | Mid Scotland and Fife | Labour | Independent | Alex Rowley was reinstated by Labour. |
| 15 July 2019 | Lothian | Labour | Labour | Kezia Dugdale resigned her seat in the Scottish Parliament, taking a job with a think-tank. Dugale was succeeded by Sarah Boyack. |
| 15 July 2019 | Shetland | Liberal Democrats | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott resigned his seat in the Scottish Parliament, taking a job with Scottish Rugby. 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. |
| 24 November 2020 | South Scotland | Independent | Conservative | Michelle Ballantyne left the Conservative Party due to disagreements over policy relating to the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| 18 December 2020 | Lothian | Independent | Scottish Green | Andy Wightman resigned from the Scottish Green Party due to disagreements over policy relating to transgender rights. |
| 11 January 2021 | South Scotland | Reform UK | Independent | Michelle Ballantyne joined Reform UK (formerly known as the Brexit Party) and was appointed leader of Reform UK Scotland. |