Annabelle Ewing to quit Holyrood in 2026

Veteran SNP politician Annabelle Ewing is to stand down at next year’s Holyrood election.

Ms Ewing is the daughter of Winnie Ewing, who officially opened the new Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was a trailblazer of the independence movement.

She has been an MSP since 2011 and for the past four years has been the Scottish Parliament’s deputy presiding officer.

Ms Ewing was first elected as the MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife in 2011, and in 2016 she was re-elected as the constituency MSP for Cowdenbeath.

In announcing her resignation, she said it had been an “honour” to represent Cowdenbeath.

Before entering Holyrood, she was the MP for Perth from 2001 until 2005.

She said: “What an honour it is to represent Cowdenbeath in the Scottish Parliament.

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“My admiration for the grit, determination and community solidarity of my constituents is unbounded.

“So, it is very hard indeed to inform my constituents of my decision not to seek nomination as SNP candidate in the May 2026 Scottish Parliamentary elections.”

She vowed to continue fighting for independence, and thanked her staff and party members “who have ensured that the dream shall never die”.

Read more: The Scottish politicians standing down at the 2026 Holyrood election

Ms Ewing said: “My constituents can be assured that in the meantime, I will continue to stand up for them and to ensure that their voices are heard in our parliament.

“I will also continue to stand up for my country and to make the case through rational and gentle persuasion for Scottish independence.

“As my late mother, Winnie Ewing, famously said: Stop the world, Scotland wants to get on.”

Twelve SNP MSPs have now indicated they will be stepping down at the 2026 Holyrood election.

This includes former first minister Humza Yousaf, Business Minister Richard Lochhead and Christine Grahame, who has been an MSP since devolution.

The other SNP MSPs standing down include James Dornan, Joe FitzPatrick, Gordon MacDonald, Ruth Maguire, Audrey Nicoll, Michelle Thomson, Evelyn Tweed and Elena Whitham.

John Mason, who was suspended from the SNP last year and now sits as an independent, will also be resigning.

Other MSPs who are stepping down include Sir Edward Mountain, Liz Smith and Oliver Mundell from the Conservatives and Beatrice Wishart from the Lib Dems.