Who are Scotland's new MSPs? Meet the new boys and girls off to Holyrood for first time

After two days of counting the final results of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election are in, with 129 MSPs duly elected.

Many are veterans of the political scene, but the next Holyrood session will also welcome numerous representatives who are making their first ventures into national politics.

The next Scottish Parliament will be the most diverse ever. The 2021 election saw the first woman of colour elected, the first Sikh, and the first permanent wheelchair user. The number of MSPs from a BAME background has risen to six.

The percentage of female MSPs has risen to 45%.

So let's meet the new boys and girls of Holyrood.

SNP

Siobhan Brown (Ayr)

In what could rank as the SNP's biggest win of the entire election, Siobhan Brown gained Ayr for Nicola Sturgeon's party from the Tories in one of the closest run races of the campaign.

The South Ayrshire councillor turned the long-held Conservative seat yellow with a dramatic victory over John Scott by just 170 votes. Brown said: "I've been on the council since 2017 and have worked hard regardless of whether people voted for me or not."

Neil Gray (Airdrie and Shotts)

Gray served as MP for the Airdrie constituency at Westminster from 2015 until March this year. He announced his decision to quit last November in order to stand for election to Holyrood. A by-election for his old Westminster seat will take place on May 13. Gray easily won the Holyrood seat with a majority of 5,468 - with former Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard finishing second.

Explaining his decision to swap Westminster for Holyrood, Gray said after his victory: "I've looked at our MSP colleagues and the fantastic work they do, and Holyrood is where I feel I can make the biggest difference and have the biggest impact for my constituents."

Jenni Minto (Argyll and Bute)

The former seat of Mike Russell - among the many SNP veterans to retire ahead of this election - was won by Jenni Minto. Born in Elgin but raised in St Andrews, she was previously the manager of the Islay Museum of Life and has a home on the island. She told her local paper, the Oban Times: "I feel incredibly humbled. It is such a privilege to represent this amazing constituency and its people."

Michelle Thomson (Falkirk East)

Another former MP, Thomson was elected to represent the Edinburgh Western seat at Westminster in 2015. She quit the party whip in September that year and did not stand for reelection in 2017. Thomson rejoined the party the following year. Speaking at the count on Friday, she said: "We don't yet know the make-up of our new parliament, but if Falkirk East tells us anything, it tells us that Scotland speaks clearly."

Angus Robertson (Edinburgh Central)

Robertson is of course no stranger to frontline politics having previously served as the leader of the SNP's Westminster group of MPs until 2017, when he lost his Moray seat to Douglas Ross. He has since moved to the Capital and won back its Central constituency from the Tories. Robertson is certain to be a strong contender for a senior Cabinet position in Nicola Sturgeon's next government.

Speaking after his victory, Robertson said: "In this most European of capital cities, people have resoundingly rejected the party of Brexit and Boris Johnson. The public has rejected all of the parties that want to block an independence referendum."

Evelyn Tweed (Stirling)

The former seat of SNP veteran Bruce Crawford, Stirling was held by the Nationalists by new candidate Evelyn Tweed. Originally from Ayr, she has served for several years on Stirling Council. Speaking on Friday, Tweed said: "This is where the hard work starts. We have this pandemic to get through and that is the number one priority."

Jackie Dunbar (Aberdeen Donside)

Dunbar is a councillor on the Aberdeen City local authority and won a selection contest for the Donside constituency last year. The seat was previously held by Mark McDonald, who was suspended by the SNP in 2017 and served the remainder of his time at Holyrood as an independent. Shortly after being announced as the winner, Dunbar pledged to “stick up for folk no matter how they voted”.

Karen Adam (Banffshire and Buchan Coast)

Adam was a full-time mum before being elected to Aberdeenshire Council for the first time in 2017, and is a long-term campaigner for disabled rights. The seat was previously held by SNP veteran Stewart Stevenson, who has retired from Holyrood. Adam took time on Friday to thank and pay tribute to her deaf father in British Sign Language as she declared her win an “absolute rejection” of the UK’s Brexit deal.

Paul McLennan (East Lothian)

East Lothian was the long-term seat of Iain Gray, but since the former Scottish Labour leader announced that he would not seek reelection it became a key SNP target. Local councillor Paul McLennan was the man charged with winning it for the Nationalists and he duly did so on Friday, pushing Labour's Martin Whitfield into second place with a majority of just 1,179 votes. McLennan paid tribute to Gray on Friday, saying: “He has been MSP for a long time, mostly here in East Lothian, and Iain’s presence will be missed."

Stephanie Callaghan (Uddingston and Bellshill)

Callaghan, who worked in youth and adult education provision, held the Uddingston seat for the SNP after Richard Lyle announced his retirement from Holyrood last year. The SNP had faced pressure from opposition parties to drop Callaghan as a candidate after it emerged she had previously compared Theresa May rejecting an independence referendum with the actions of Adolf Hitler.

Mairi McAllan (Clydesdale)

McAllan worked as a solicitor for Harper Macleod before she was appointed as a special adviser to Nicola Sturgeon working on environment and climate change in January 2020 - a position she stood down from when she was selected as SNP candidate for Clydesdale. The rural seat covers part of South Lanarkshire and was first won by the SNP in 2011 by Aileen Campbell, who has since quit Holyrood.

Kaukab Stewart (Glasgow Kelvin)

Stewart has run for election five times having been a campaigner for more than 20 years. The 53-year-old teacher takes over the Glasgow Kelvin constituency seat from the party's Sandra White, winning with a majority of 5,458 over the Greens. She thanked voters, saying it was "an honour" to be the first woman of colour to become an MSP.

Jim Fairlie (Perthshire South and Kinross-shire)

Brother of the late Andrew Fairlie, a celebrated chef, Jim Fairlie is a farmer and established the Perth Farmers' Market in 1996. The Perthshire South seat was previously held by SNP stalwart Roseanna Cunningham.

Audrey Nicoll (Aberdeen South)

Nicoll, who held Aberdeen South for Nicola Sturgeon's party in May, retired from Police Scotland in 2015 having risen to the rank of Detective Sergeant. The former officer worked a number of specialist roles across the old Grampian constabulary, including on the development of policing policy, before Police Scotland was established in 2013.

Collette Stevenson (East Kilbride)

Stevenson was elected to represent her home town after long-serving MSP Linda Fabiani announced her retirement. At the time of her election she was depute provost of South Lanarkshire council.

Natalie Don (Renfrewshire North and West)

The SNP held Renfrewshire North comfortably despite its previous incumbent being Derek Mackay, whose political career ended in sudden disgrace. Don, a local councillor, has pledged to "set things straight" in the constituency.

Elena Whitman (Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)

Whitman has succeeded the now-retired health secretary Jeane Freeman in the Carrick constituency. A depute leader of East Ayrshire Council, Whitman previously ran a Slimming World franchise and a tattoo studio in Kilwinning.

Emma Roddick (Highland region)

Roddick is a councillor on the Highland local authority, currently serving as the SNP group’s spokeswoman on housing. At 23, she is the youngest MSP in Holyrood.

Greens

Lorna Slater (Lothian region)

The Greens' co-leader was born in Canada and moved to Scotland more than 20 years ago. She now stays in Edinburgh and worked as an engineer in the renewable energy sector. She was one of two Green MSPs returned on the Lothians list, alongside Alison Johnstone.

Maggie Chapman (North East region)

A former co-leader of the Greens, Chapman stood for the party as its top candidate at the last European Parliament elections held in 2019 before Brexit. She served as a councillor for the Leith Walk ward of Edinburgh Council.

Ariane Burgess (Highland region)

Burgess was the Greens' number one candidate on the Highland list. She previously worked in sustainable community development. She has called for transport links to the Highlands to be upgraded as a matter of priority, including doubling the main railway line from Perth to Inverness.

Gillian Mackay (Central region)

Mackay is the first Green MSP to be returned via the Central region list vote. She entered politics by completing an internship with the Greens as part of an initiative being run by Inclusion Scotland. Mackay, who has the sensory disability Meniere’s disease, has a Masters degree in marine biodiversity and biotechnology.

Labour

Paul Sweeney (Glasgow region)

Sweeney was elected as an MP for Glasgow North East in 2017 when Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party shocked pundits by depriving Theresa May's government of a majority. But he lost the seat at the 2019 general election when the SNP swept the board across Scotland. Sweeney has spoken candidly about relying on Universal Credit while out of work, but will now serve Labour at Holyrood after being returned on the list vote.

Martin Whitfield (South Scotland region)

Whitfield was another Scottish Labour MP elected in 2017 only to lose out at the general election two years later. The former primary school teacher narrowly lost the East Lothian constituency at the Holyrood election on Thursday. Despite living in Prestonpans near Edinburgh, he was elected as a list MSP for South Scotland - a reflection of the East Lothian council area being curiously included in an electoral region with Dumfries and Galloway.

Pam Duncan-Glancy (Glasgow region)

Duncan-Glancy has made history by becoming the first permanent wheelchair user to be elected as an MSP. Despite being a Labour candidate she was forced to wait at the entrance to the Glasgow count on Friday after venue officials argued over which entrance to the Emirates Arena she would be allowed to use - meaning a delay of 45 minutes. She said afterwards: "What happened yesterday happens to disabled people across Scotland and the country, and indeed the world, I'm sure, on a daily basis."

Mercedes Villalba (North East region)

Villalba is originally from Bristol and now based in Dundee. A shop steward with the Universities and Colleges Union (UCU), she stood for election in Dundee West but missed out to the SNP - only to be elected via the list in the North East. Labour distanced itself from comments Villalba made last month when she questioned on social media why election campaigning should be paused after the death of the Duke of Edinburgh.

Foysol Choudhury (Lothian region)

Choudhury is an Edinburgh-based businessman and a co-founder of the Capital's Mela festival. Born in Bangladesh, he studied in Edinburgh and has business interests in several sectors including catering, hospitality and finance.

Carol Mochan (South Scotland region)

Mochan was appointed Labour's spokeswoman for mental health and older people in March, before she was elected to Holyrood via the list vote. A lifelong trade unionist, Mochan trained to be a dietician and worked for the NHS for nearly two decades. At the time of her election she was running a small dog kennels business.

Paul O'Kane (West Scotland region)

The East Renfrewshire councillor was returned on the list after missing out in the Renfrewshire South constituency to the SNP. O'Kane has vowed to be a "dogged fighter" for everyone and has pledged to stand up for the region's services, with a "relentless focus" on recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Michael Marra (North East region)

A Dundee councillor who previously worked for Iain Gray, Marra is an ally of Anas Sarwar and could be in line for a senior position within Labour's shadow cabinet.

Conservatives

Sue Webber (Lothians region)

Webber was a councillor in Edinburgh when she was selected to fight the Western constituency in the capital - a seat held by the Lib Dems. She faced calls to resign as a candidate from opposition parties in March after WhatsApp messages were revealed in the media which showed Webber accusing the media of "creating fear and panic" over covid, attacking the travel ban as "crazy" and praising the public sector pay freeze.

Sandesh Gulhane (Glasgow region)

Gulhane was born and educated in London. He is is a doctor and has worked as a GP in Glasgow. He held the post of club doctor at Queen's Park - Scotland's oldest football club.

Pam Gosal (West Scotland region)

Gosal is the first Sikh to be elected as an MSP after winning a place via the West Scotland region. She lives in Milngavie with her husband and children, and has a professional background in economic development in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

Russell Findlay (West Scotland region)

Findlay was an award-winning investigative reporter for several newspapers, including the Sunday Mail, sister title of the Record. He joined the Scottish Conservatives to lead their communications team last year.

Sharon Dowey (South Scotland region)

Born in Girvan and raised in Maybole, Dowey worked in retail from the age of 16 and was a senior manager with Wm Morrison at the time of her election to Holyrood via the list vote.

Craig Hoy (South Scotland)

Hoy is a former journalist and was launch editor of Holyrood magazine in 1999. At the time of his election he was a councillor for the Haddington and Lammermuir ward on East Lothian council.

Meghan Gallacher (Central Scotland)

Gallacher was a councillor representing the Motherwell West ward on North Lanarkshire Council at the time of her election via the list vote. From Holytown, she told the Record in 2014 both her parents were supporters of Scottish independence.

Stephen Kerr (Central Scotland)

A former Tory MP for Stirling, Kerr lost his Westminster seat to the SNP in 2019. He is only the second Mormon to be elected to Holyrood.