7 Holyrood Parties · Verified First-Person Leader Statements
John Swinney (First Minister of Scotland; MSP for Perthshire North)
Largest party in the Scottish Parliament (58 MSPs: 57 constituency, 1 regional list); governing party of Scotland
Child poverty & opportunity
No one's opportunities should be determined by the circumstances they are born into, which is why eradicating child poverty is my single greatest priority as first minister.
Scottish Child Payment & families
We already have a strong track record of improving the lives of children across Scotland, with the Scottish Child Payment lifting an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty this year.
Anas Sarwar (Leader; Glasgow Regional List MSP)
Joint second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament (17 MSPs: 3 constituency, 14 regional list)
NHS & clean energy jobs
Scottish Labour is ready and willing to deliver the change we need – from restoring our NHS, to creating jobs and making Scotland a global leader in clean energy.
Public services & NHS waiting lists
Removing Humza Yousaf alone will not deliver the change we need – we need to get rid of the entire SNP government which has left almost one in six Scots on an NHS waiting list, public finances in chaos and public services at breaking point.
Nigel Farage (UK Leader); Malcolm Offord & Thomas Kerr (Holyrood MSPs)
Joint second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament (17 MSPs: 0 constituency, 17 regional list)
Holyrood campaign & fresh start
We will have 73 candidates standing across the whole of Scotland from every corner offering people a fresh start in this election campaign and I'm looking forward to getting on to the positive vision that we can build for Scotland.
Elections & political realignment
We are all ships rising on a turquoise tide headed ever closer towards winning the next general election.
Gillian Mackay & Ross Greer (Co-Leaders); Patrick Harvie & Lorna Slater
Fourth-largest party in the Scottish Parliament (15 MSPs: 2 constituency, 13 regional list)
Cost of living & political hope
We know you're scunnered with politics at the moment, and we know you're looking for a bit of hope, we're going to offer that.
Climate, tenants' rights & independence
With Greens in government we would be able to deliver positive change like tackling Scotland's emissions, protecting nature, advancing tenants' rights, bringing forward overdue equalities legislation and delivering an independence referendum.
Russell Findlay (Leader; West Scotland Regional List MSP)
Fifth-largest party in the Scottish Parliament (12 MSPs: 4 constituency, 8 regional list)
Taxpayers, hard work & public trust
We will be a voice for decent mainstream Scotland and the values of hard work, self-reliance, and value for taxpayers.
Rebuilding trust at Holyrood
We will work hard to earn your trust by doing things differently.
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Leader; MSP for Edinburgh North Western)
Sixth party in the Scottish Parliament (10 MSPs: 7 constituency, 3 regional list)
Health care, cost of living & education
That's why we have a realistic plan to get things done, delivering first-rate health care, helping you with the cost of living, getting Scotland moving again, and getting Scottish education back to its best.
Kenny MacAskill (Leader); Neale Hanvey (Deputy Leader)
Pro-independence party contesting Scottish Parliament regional lists
Scottish independence & party founder
This was an election brought about by the tragic passing of our founder Alex Salmond.
No one's opportunities should be determined by the circumstances they are born into, which is why eradicating child poverty is my single greatest priority as first minister.
With Greens in government we would be able to deliver positive change like tackling Scotland's emissions, protecting nature, advancing tenants' rights, bringing forward overdue equalities legislation and delivering an independence referendum.
We know you're scunnered with politics at the moment, and we know you're looking for a bit of hope, we're going to offer that.
We are all ships rising on a turquoise tide headed ever closer towards winning the next general election.
The co-operation agreement we've negotiated would put Greens at the heart of decision-making at this crucial time and if our members endorse it then I look forward to driving change in government.
That's why we have a realistic plan to get things done, delivering first-rate health care, helping you with the cost of living, getting Scotland moving again, and getting Scottish education back to its best.
We will have 73 candidates standing across the whole of Scotland from every corner offering people a fresh start in this election campaign and I'm looking forward to getting on to the positive vision that we can build for Scotland.
Scottish Labour is ready and willing to deliver the change we need – from restoring our NHS, to creating jobs and making Scotland a global leader in clean energy.
Removing Humza Yousaf alone will not deliver the change we need – we need to get rid of the entire SNP government which has left almost one in six Scots on an NHS waiting list, public finances in chaos and public services at breaking point.
We will work hard to earn your trust by doing things differently.
We already have a strong track record of improving the lives of children across Scotland, with the Scottish Child Payment lifting an estimated 100,000 children out of poverty this year.
As we make this journey to independence, I believe that we need our strongest voices within the Scottish Parliament.
This was an election brought about by the tragic passing of our founder Alex Salmond.
We will be a voice for decent mainstream Scotland and the values of hard work, self-reliance, and value for taxpayers.