Regional list MSPs include Dumbarton man David Smith

A selection of List MSPs who will sit at Holyrood– Malcolm Offord, Reform UK;  Russell Findlay, Conservative; David Smith, Reform UK; Anas Sarwar, Scottish Labour; Ross Greer, Green Party and Jenni Minto, SNP.

David Smith’s inclusion on the regional list gives Dumbarton an extra voice at Holyrood

REFORM UK’s Scottish leader, Malcolm Offord, and his colleague, David Smith, are two of the party’s new MSPs. And both are ready to get to work today, Monday.

Lord Offord said: “So at the moment we have 15 MSPs, with one region still to go, Highlands and Islands, so that’ll end up being whatever 16,17, 18, whatever that might be.

“That gives us a really strong group to come into Holyrood, a new party, new to Scottish politics, getting in with a substantial group with one single aim, which is to hold this government to account.

“The next five years are going to be tricky, certainly from a financial point of view. There’s a £5 billion black hole looming, and the SNP and the Greens are going to have to be called to account on how they manage the budget and how they prioritise what’s important to the people of Scotland.

“Our job is going to have to be laser-focused on that, and we start that on Monday.”

David Smith, who is retired from the Royal Navy and lives in Dumbarton, said his election feels a bit surreal, but he is very proud to be elected, especially as a Reform UK candidate.

He said, “Today, we made history. The priority has to be holding the SNP to account.

“Nobody wants another divisive independence referendum, which is where this is going. It’s a massive distraction from all the things that we want to talk about, like education, like health, like our transport system.

“We want Holyrood to get on with running the country, not divisive independence debates and campaigns. You know, there’s real, real work to do, and we are the party that are going to do it.”

Both candidates were elected in the West of Scotland region.

David Smith stood in the Dumbarton constituency, which Dame Jackie Baillie won for Scottish Labour with 12,747 votes. He got 5,040 votes, coming second in the constituency.

Previously, Reform UK had only two MSPs in the Scottish Parliament, both of whom had been elected as Scottish Conservatives but who defected to the new party.

West of Scotland

Conservative – Russell Findlay

Green – Ross Greer
Green – Cara McKee

Labour – Neil Bibby
Labour – Katy Clark

Reform – Malcolm Offord
Reform – David Smith

Central Scotland and Lothians West

Conservative – Meghan Gallacher

Green – Gillian Mackay

Labour – Mark Griffin
Labour – Jenny Young

Reform – Graham Simpson
Reform – Mandy Lindsay
Reform – Amanda Bland

Glasgow

Green – Patrick Harvie
Green – Iris Duane

Labour – Anas Sarwar
Labour – Pauline McNeill
Labour – Paul Sweeney

Reform – Thomas Kerr
Reform – Kim Schmulian

Highlands and Islands

Conservative – Tim Eagle

Green – Ariana Burgess
Green – Kristopher Leask

Lib Dem – Morven-May McCallum

Reform – Vic Curry
Reform – Max Bannerman

SNP – Maree Todd

Edinburgh and the Lothians

Conservative – Miles Briggs

Green – Kate Nevens
Green – Q Manivannan
Geen – Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill

Labour – Irshad Ahmed
Labour – Katherine Sangster

Reform – Angela Ross

Mid Scotland and Fife

Conservative – Murdo Fraser
Conservative – Stephen Kerr

Green – Mark Ruskell

Labour – Claire Baker
Labour – Joe Long

Reform – Helen McDade
Reform – Julie MacDougall

North East Scotland

Conservative – Liam Kerr

Green – Maggie Chapman

Labour – Michael Marra

Lib Dem – Yi-Pei Chou Turvey

Reform – Duncan Massey
Reform – Mark Simpson

South of Scotland

Green – Laura Moodie

Labour – Carol Mochan
Labour – Joe Fagan

Lib Dem – Duncan Dunlop

Reform – Jamie Langan
Reform – David Kirkwood
Reform – Senga Beresford