AS Scotland prepares for the 2026 Holyrood elections, a number of sitting MSPs have announced they will not seek re-election, marking the end of their time in the Scottish Parliament.
From representatives of the “Class of ‘99” to government ministers, their departures signal a period of change in Scottish politics.
While some are stepping back after decades in public office, others have cited personal reasons, health concerns, or a desire to make way for fresh voices.
Here is a full list of the MSPs who will not be standing for re-election in 2026:
SNP
Humza Yousaf
![]()
Former first minister Humza Yousaf said in December that he will be stepping back from Holyrood from 2026. He is widely expected to seek an international role after leaving frontline Scottish politics.
Nicola Sturgeon
![]()
(Image: James Manning/PA Wire) Another former first minister, the longest serving in Scotland's history, Nicola Sturgeon announced she would be stepping back from Holyrood at the 2026 elections after months of speculation about her future.
Shona Robison
![]()
Finance Secretary Shona Robison is the highest ranking SNP MSP to announce that they will not stand again in 2026.
Robison said it was the "right time for me to take on some new challenges and contribute to public life in a different way".
Mairi Gougeon
![]()
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon has said she will be stepping down from Holyrood in 2026, saying she was proud to have been the first woman to hold that Cabinet role since the onset of devolution.
Graeme Dey
![]()
Higher and further education minister Graeme Dey has said he will be stepping down from Holyrood in 2026 after 15 years in the parliament. He said that due to his age, serving for another five-year term was "not a commitment I feel able to make".
Christine Grahame
![]()
(Image: PA)
One of Holyrood's original MSPs, first elected in 1999, Grahame announced her intention to retire last September.
James Dornan
The MSP for Glasgow Cathcart, Dornan had initially planned to step down ahead of the 2021 elections. He changed his mind and again won his seat, but for 2026 has ruled himself out and said he plans to retire.
Fiona Hyslop
Veteran SNP politician Fiona Hyslop announced she plans to retire and will not seek re-election in 2026, as she said the “time is right” to step down.
Ruth Maguire
![]()
The MSP for Cunninghame South has said she will not be standing for 2026 Holyrood elections. She will be receiving treatment for cervical cancer.
Elena Whitham
![]()
(Image: NQ archive)
The former drugs minister and MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Whitham has announced she will not seek re-election “after much soul searching and discussion with my loved ones”.
Richard Lochhead
![]()
(Image: PA)An MSP since 1999, current minister and former Cabinet secretary, Lochhead has said he will not be standing again in 2026. He said it “is time to pass on the torch, and to seek fresh challenges outwith frontline politics”.
Joe FitzPatrick
![]()
After serving in government under first ministers Alex Salmond, Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf, FitzPatrick is currently a backbencher and will not stand again in 2026. He was first elected as an MSP in 2007.
Michelle Thomson
A former MP and serving MSP for Falkirk East, Thomson has announced that she will not stand in 2026 to allow her personal caring responsibilities to take precedence over her political career.
Audrey Nicoll
MSP for MSP for Aberdeen South and Kincardine and convenor of the criminal justice committee, Nicoll announced she will be standing down after one term.
Evelyn Tweed
![]()
The MSP for Stirling, Evelyn Tweed announced that she would be stepping down from Holyrood after just one term. She said she had decided to "embrace new opportunities".
Rona Mackay
![]()
Mackay, who was elected in 2016 and then re-elected in 2021, will retire as a Scottish Parliamentarian next year. Mackay told constituents it felt "right to retire" after serving for almost 10 years.
Gordon Macdonald
![]()
SNP MSP Gordon Macdonald said he would retire in 2026. In a letter announcing the news, Macdonald said it was fitting as the Boundary Commission was retiring his Edinburgh Pentlands constituency at the same election.
Annabelle Ewing
![]()
(Image: NQ) A veteran politician for the SNP who served as an MP before representing Cowdenbeath as an MSP. She is also one of Holyrood’s deputy presiding officers and said despite stepping down she will continue to make the case for Scottish independence.
Christina McKelvie
![]()
(Image: Newsquest) Christina McKelvie took medical leave from her role as drugs and alcohol minister in August in 2024 in order to undergo breast cancer treatment. In March 2025, she said she would be stepping down as an MSP at the next Holyrood elections.
Natalie Don-Innes
Natalie Don-Innes has been the Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise since 2023.
The SNP MSP for Renfrewshire North and West said it had been the “biggest honour” representing her constituency, but it was the “right” decision for her and her family to step down next year.
John Mason (currently an independent)
![]()
(Image: PA)Suspended from the SNP and then expelled for his controversial comments on Israel and Gaza, Mason had in 2023 indicated that he will not run for parliament again in 2026.
Conservatives
Oliver Mundell
![]()
The son of former Scottish secretary David Mundell, Oliver Mundell has been an MSP since his election to represent Dumfriesshire in 2016. He confirmed plans not to stand again in 2026 in January.
Liz Smith
![]()
Tory MSP Liz Smith announced she would be stepping down to make room for "new blood". She further said that she had been offered an "opportunity to move on to other pursuits in public life".
Edward Mountain
![]()
(Image: Scottish Parliament) Edward Mountain, an aristocrat and millionaire who represents the Highlands and Islands, attacked his own party as he announced plans to quit Holyrood in 2026. "In 1979 when I started campaigning for the Conservatives, it was for a very different party to the one we are in today," he wrote. "I have welcomed many of the changes, but not all of them."
Labour
Richard Leonard
![]()
The former leader of Scottish Labour, Richard Leonard announced he would not stand in 2026 in an article in the Falkirk Herald. "I will not be standing down from the causes that I believe in and that I have spent my entire adult life fighting for," Leonard added.
Alex Rowley
![]()
Another left-wing Scottish Labour MSP, Alex Rowley has also announced his intention to resign in 2026. A former frontbencher and leader of Fife Council, Rowley has been on the Labour backbenches since Anas Sarwar became group leader.
On the fence
Former health secretary Michael Matheson is expected not to stand again, but as yet has not confirmed his intentions either way.
