Holyrood 2021 election: A list of every MSP who's standing down

As well as signalling the start of official campaigning, recess also marks the end of the road for some of Holyrood’s longest-serving parliamentarians.

In total, 34 MSPs are expected to stand down, including four government ministers and the Presiding Officer.

Some 14 out of the SNP’s 61 MSPs are not seeking re-election, while for the Tories it’s seven out of 30.

Nine out of 23 Labour MSPs are leaving Holyrood as are one out of five in both the Green and LibDem contingents. Two out of four independents are expected to stand down.

Paying homage to the outgoing parliamentarians, Nicola Sturgeon said: "Each of the 34 MSPs who is stepping down has served their constituents and this Parliament with distinction and I sincerely and genuinely wish each and every one of you all the very best for the future."

This is the list in full.

SNP

Aileen Campbell

Campbell, 40, held three junior ministerial roles (local government, children, public health) before being promoted to Communities and Local Government Secretary in 2018. She is one of four Cabinet members stepping down.

The Clydesdale MSP, who has two young sons, says she is stepping down to spend more time with her family.

First elected in South Scotland in 2007, she became the first ever Scottish Government minister to take maternity leave in December 2014.

Nicola Sturgeon described her as a “rare talent” she hoped to see back in frontline politics before long.

Bruce Crawford

Crawford is one of 13 MSPs standing down who were elected to the inaugural Scottish parliament in 1999.

He served as parliamentary business minister from 2007-2011 and Cabinet Secretary for Parliament and Government Strategy from 2011-2012.

The Stirling representative says he’s looking forward to spending time with his grandchildren.

Roseanna Cunningham

Cunningham, the SNP’s former depute leader, was first elected in 1999, having also served as an MP in Perthshire.

She ran for the SNP leadership in 2004, losing out to Alex Salmond. The Perthshire South and Kinross-shire MSP was appointed to a range of junior and senior ministerial roles between 2009 and 2016.

Cunningham said by the end of the next parliamentary term she would be nearly 75, and so age is a "more relevant factor than it may otherwise have been".

Linda Fabiani

Fabiani was the convener of the inquiry into the Scottish Government’s handling of complaints against Alex Salmond.

The East Kilbride MSP is part of the class of 1999 and has served as Deputy Presiding Officer and minister for Europe.

She said she would be 65 in 2021 and feels she “cannot make another five-year commitment”.

Jeane Freeman

The Health Secretary is among the most high-profile departures from Holyrood, having served as Health Secretary since 2018.

She had previously been appointed social security minister in 2016.

The Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley MSP said she would be in her 70s by the end of the next term and had "more she wanted to do".

Nicola Sturgeon expressed her “heartfelt thanks” to Freeman in the Parliament’s final session before recess.

Richard Lyle

The SNP’s longest-serving politician became a list MSP in 2011, winning the Uddingston and Belshill constituency vote five years later.

Nicola Sturgeon recently paid tribute to Lyle at First Minister’s Questions, thanking him for his “sterling contribution” and saying she would “miss him greatly”.

The MSP said his 45 years in the SNP had been “a blast”.

Angus MacDonald

The Falkirk East representative has held his seat since 2011.

The MSP, who was born in Stornoway, said he wanted to "return to his roots in the Western Isles to explore other opportunities".

Alex Neil

The SNP veteran has been in Parliament since 1999 and ran for the party leadership in 2000, losing to John Swinney.

Between 2009 and 2016 he held a variety of ministerial positions, including Health Secretary.

The Airdrie and Shotts MSP said continuing as an MSP would mean "not having the time to pursue all the other things in life I want to do”.

Gil Paterson

The Clydebank and Milngavie representative has been an MSP since 1999.

He had previously been elected on the list ballot in Central Scotland (1999-2003) then West of Scotland (2007-2011).

Gail Ross

The Highlands MSP, from Wick, announced her decision to step down last year, saying she was finding it difficult being so far away from her five-year-old son.

The Caithness, Sutherland and Ross representative also said the sheer scale of her vast parliamentary constituency meant it had been near impossible to regularly visit every corner. Ross explained the decision to step down had “not been an easy one”.

READ MORE: Polling experts give their predictions for the Holyrood election

On her finaly Holyrood appearance, she read a poem: “I have a confession to make: when I have sat in the chamber, I have written poems that were relevant to the subject that had been debated, then left them in the desk. I hope that when members have found them some made them smile and some made them think. This is the one that I would leave today, if I were in the chamber:

“No more will you see me
But you’ll know that I’m still there
Sat with you in Margo’s
Or passing on the stairs
Coffee in the Garden Lobby
Just won’t be the same
But remember this is not goodbye
It’s Til We Meet Again!”

Michael Russell

One of the Scottish Government’s most recognisable figures, the Argyll and Bute MSP is stepping down from Holyrood but will continue as SNP president.

He joined the SNP in 1974 and worked his way up to becoming the party's first full-time chief executive in 1994.

Russell was first elected in 1999, though he lost his seat in the 2003 election.

He too challenged Alex Salmond in the 2004 leadership contest before going on to hold a variety of government positions from 2007 onwards.

Russell says it is time for someone younger to take over his position, as he will be 67 next year.

Stewart Stevenson

The Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP was first elected to Parliament in 2001.

He held three junior minister roles (Schools, Public Health, then Mental Health) between 2007 and 2018.

He will have made more than 800 parliamentary speeches and will have attended more than 1000 Parliamentary Committee meetings and held almost 1200 advice surgeries for constituents by the time he retires.

Maureen Watt

Having first been elected to Holyrood in 2006, Watt says its time for another woman to take her place.

The Aberdeen South and North Kincardine MSP as served as minister for schools and skills, public health and was also the first dedicated minister for mental health.

Sandra White

A councillor in Renfrewshire before coming to Holyrood, White was part of the original 1999 intake.

Speaking to The National recently, the Glasgow Kelvin MSP said “independence is coming”.

“For the life of me, I cannot see how it can be normal for a country of just under 6 million people to have to wait for a country of more than 60 million people to tell it what it can do,” she added.

Conservatives 

Bill Bowman

The North East MSP has held his seat since 2016.

He was convener of Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee.

Ruth Davidson described him as a “good servant” of Holyrood in the parliament’s closing session.

Peter Chapman

Also a North East MSP since 2016, Chapman will not seek re-election in May.

Prior to being elected to Holyrood, he was vice-president of the National Farmers Union, as well as being on the board of Scottish Natural Heritage. He was also an Aberdeenshire councillor.

Ruth Davidson

The former Scottish Tory leader is stepping down to take up a peerage in the House of Lords.

Soon-to-be Baroness Davidson led her party from 2011 to 2019.

Giving her final speech to Parliament, she said: “For my part, I will miss this place. When I announced in August 2019 that I was standing down as leader and would not seek re-election, I always knew that leaving would be a wrench.

“It is so consuming. It is not just the sitting days, but everything else that goes along with them that is so absorbing, that makes it hard to carve out proper time for the ones you love.”

Alison Harris

Harris has held a seat in Central Scotland since 2016.

She made headlines last year for attacking the Scottish Government for failing to fund the Falkirk Growth Deal – despite the fact Holyrood was contributing the bulk of the cash for the £90m project.

Tom Mason

Mason is the third Tory MSP leaving a seat from the North East list.

He has served in the role since 2017.

Margaret Mitchell

Mitchell has served as a Conservative regional MSP for Central Scotland since 2003.

She said: “By the end of this session in 2021 I will have had the privilege of representing my Central Scotland constituents for 18 years and I thank you all for your support. However at the end of last year I made the huge decision that, having achieved most of the things I set out to do, I would not seek re-election in 2021.”

Adam Tomkins

The Tory will return full time to his role as the John Millar Professor of public law at Glasgow University.

He has been an MSP for Glasgow since 2016 and said the decision to stand down was for personal rather than political reasons.

Labour

Mary Fee

The West Scotland MSP lost out to Jim Murphy for the party leadership in 2014.

She has held her seat since 2011.

Fee signed off in Parliament with the following statement: ““I hope that, in the next parliamentary session, parliament continues to work to make our society fairer, more equal and more protected and that the members who remain here are a positive example of how we can enhance equality and protect human rights.”

Neil Findlay

The veteran left-winger also challenged Jim Murphy for the leadership in 2014 and led Jeremy Corbyn’s Scottish campaign.

He has clashed with party leadership over his belief Labour should “positively support” a second independence referendum if there is a majority for it after the election.

Despite leading attempts to stamp out lobbying scandals, Findlay has been advertising himself as a would-be lobbyist in preparation for leaving Holyrood.

He joked on his final Holyrood appearance: “I even enjoyed standing for Labour leader — well, we have all had a go at some point.”

Iain Gray

The East Lothian MSP led Scottish Labour from 2008 to 2011.

He famously sought refuge in a sandwich shop after being targeted by protestors during the 2011 election campaign.

Johann Lamont

Another former Scottish Labour leader not seeking re-election.

She led the party from 2011 to 2014.

Saying her final goodbyes to Holyrood, she warned: “We are now in terrible times and fearful for the future, and the consequences of these times, although largely unknown, will, I am sure, amplify the inequality that people in our communities already suffer.”

Lewis Macdonald

Macdonald was one of the first MSPs elected to the newly-formed Scottish Parliament in 1999 – having campaigned for decades for its creation.

The North East Scotland MSP later served as government minister before becoming Deputy Presiding Officer .

He recently told the Evening Express: “A personal highlight was a year ago in the midst of the pandemic when parliament wanted a new Deputy Presiding Officer to make sure parliament could continue, and I was elected unanimously. That was a real honour because to get support from all parties on the basis of the job you’re there to do is a nice way to finish, although it was in the most difficult circumstances.”

Ken Macintosh

The popular Presiding Officer is another to have been in Holyrood since 1999.

He was elected to the politically neutral role in 2016 after having twice unsuccessfully challenged for the Scottish Labour leadership.

Winning the heartfelt praise if his colleagues as Parliament wrapped up before the election, Macintosh was giving a standing ovation.

You can watch his final speech in full here.

Jenny Marra

Another North East Scotland MSP, Marra has held the post since 2011.

She used her final Holyrood to condemn Scotland’s drug death “shame” and attack the SNP.

Marra told MSPs: “I am allowed to be honest today: I think that the hard edge of nationalism has worn some of us down, for now. I am glad that our party is presenting new energy and vitality for the next parliament.”

Elaine Smith

The former Deputy Presiding Officer (2011-2016) announced in 2018 that she would not be standing in 2021, due to ill health.

She was first elected to Coatbridge and Chryston in 1999 and served as the constituency's MSP until 2016, when she became an MSP for the Central Scotland region.

David Stewart

The Highlands and Islands MSP, who is due to turn 65 the day before the election, is retiring.

He had previously served as both an MP and a councillor.

Greens

John Finnie

The former SNP MSP resigned from the party in 2012 over the party's decision to support Nato membership in an independent Scotland and switched to the Greens in 2016.

His daughter, Ruth Maguire, was elected as an SNP MSP in 2016.

He said at the closing Holyrood session: “New members are coming, presiding officer, and I’m delighted our parliament will welcome more women.”

LibDems

Mike Rumbles

The outspoken LibDem twice ran for the party leadership in 2005 and 2008, losing out to Nicol Stephen and Tavish Scott respectively.

He has had several high-profile run-ins with the First Minister during this parliament.

Signing off in the final debate, he said: “Since I was first elected some 22 years ago, I’ve seen a marked change, if I may say so, in the independence of mind of MSP colleagues – across the board, I’m not singling anyone out – when it comes to voting in the Scottish Parliament. We have collectively become far more tribal.”

Independents

Derek Mackay

The former Finance Secretary resigned hours before he was due to deliver the Scottish budget on February 6, 2020, following reports he sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media.

The Renfrewshire North and West MSP was suspended from the SNP pending further investigation, but continued to sit as an independent.

He resigned from the SNP last week.

Mark McDonald

The Aberdeen Donside MSP was suspended from Holyrood over a sexual harassment scandal in 2017.

The former SNP politician apologised in his final speech to Parliament.

“I recognise that I have made poor decisions in my life and, although I have never set out to deliberately cause upset to anyone, the fact that people felt hurt and upset by my actions causes me immense regret and sorrow,” he said.

“Although I have apologised sincerely for those actions, I want to take the opportunity to do so in the chamber: I am sorry.”