Willie Rennie MSP set to contest 2026 elections to mark a full decade as MSP
North-East Fife MSP Willie Rennie has confirmed he will stand at the 2026 Scottish elections.
He was the confirmed as the Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate by local members in an announcement to mark exactly one year before voters go to the polls.
Mr Rennie was first elected to represent the constituency in 2016, having previously represented the Mid-Scotland and Fife region from 2011. The boundaries of the Scottish Parliament constituency will remain unchanged for the forthcoming election, although its name will change to Fife North East to distinguish it from the larger Westminster constituency.
Mr Rennie said: “It has been an enormous honour and pleasure to represent North East Fife, including the area where I grew up, as the local MSP since 2016. It is a great responsibility to have people put their trust in me, but also rewarding to be able to help people. For me that is the core of this job.
“With a year to go I look forward to campaigning in the next election, and I am grateful for the support of local party members in confirming me as their candidate. Scottish Liberal Democrats offer a pragmatic approach to politics which is focused on solving the problems people face in their daily lives. We showed our potential in the Westminster election last year, and I am confident that with hard work we can win greater influence in the next parliament. ”
Mr Rennie described the role as “non stop” since the last Scottish Parliament election in 2021, which took place under the shadow of Covid restrictions.
He continued: “I have been even more active in parliament holding ministers to account and raising the issues faced by my constituents. When people in Cupar were flooded out of their homes by Storm Gerrit, I spent months questioning ministers until eventually the government agreed to provide payments to those affected, in the same way as they did to the victims of Storm Babet in Angus.
“And earlier this year I led my party’s negotiations with the Scottish Government over the budget. We were pragmatic but determined to win meaningful change. We won concessions on many of our priorities, including greater priority for vital infrastructure projects in North East Fife such as building a train station in Newburgh and replacing Kilmaron Special School in Cupar.