Three SNP ministers are facing a selection contest for their seats ahead of next year’s Scottish Parliament election. Shirley-Anne Somerville (Dunfermline & East Fife), Fergus Ewing (Inverness & Nairn) and Ash Denham (Edinburgh Eastern) will need to overcome challenges from party activists to get the nomination. A further eight SNP MSPs (Christine Grahame, Colin Beattie, Kenneth Gibson, James Dornan, David Torrance, Stuart McMillan, Fulton McGregor and John Mason) are also facing selection contests for the constituency seats they currently hold.
In 36 of the 73 constituency seats the party will ask local members to approve a sole nominee – 33 of these nominees are sitting MSPs plus Orkney, Shetland and Clydesdale. In Clydesdale, where Aileen Campbell is stepping down, special adviser Màiri McAllan is the only candidate for the nomination. Sole nominees have to secure the support of 50 members by 12:00 on Wednesday 30 September to become the party’s candidate.
Other SNP list MSPs are entering competitive ballots for constituency nominations, including Maree Todd who is seeking the nomination in Caithness, Sutherland & Ross. Vetting of challenger candidates is still ongoing with names expected to join the contested nominations over the coming week.
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MSPs who are sole nominees:
- George Adam (Paisley)
- Clare Adamson (Motherwell & Wishaw)
- Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an lar)
- Tom Arthur (Renfrewshire South)
- Keith Brown (Clackmannanshire & Dunblane)
- Willie Coffey (Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley)
- Angela Constance (Almond Valley)
- Graeme Dey (Angus South)
- Bob Doris (Glasgow Maryhill & Springburn)
- Annabelle Ewing (Mid Scotland & Fife)
- Joe FitzPatrick (Dundee City West)
- Kate Forbes (Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch)
- Jenny Gilruth (Mid Fife & Glenrothes)
- Mairi Gougeon (Angus North & Mearns)
- Clare Haughey (Rutherglen)
- Jamie Hepburn (Cumbernauld & Kilsyth)
- Fiona Hyslop (Linlithgow)
- Bill Kidd (Glasgow Anniesland)
- Richard Lochhead (Moray)
- Gordon MacDonald (Edinburgh Pentlands)
- Rona Mackay (Strathkelvin & Bearsden)
- Ben Macpherson (Edinburgh Northern & Leith)
- Ruth Maguire (Cunninghame South)
- Gillian Martin (Aberdeenshire East)
- Michael Matheson (Falkirk West)
- Ivan McKee (Glasgow Provan)
- Christina McKelvie (Hamilton, Larkhall & Stonehouse)
- Shona Robison (Dundee City East)
- Kevin Stewart (Aberdeen Central)
- Nicola Sturgeon (Glasgow Southside)
- John Swinney (Perthshire North)
- Paul Wheelhouse (South Scotland)
- Humza Yousaf (Glasgow Pollok)
Non-MSP sole nominees:
- Robert Leslie (Orkney)
- Mairi McAllan (Clydesdale)
- Tom Wills (Shetland)
