Key Dates
The deadline to register to vote for this election is 11:59pm on Monday 20th April 2026. TODAY! You can register to vote online via https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Anyone over the age of 16 and legally resident, regardless of their nationality, can vote in elections for the Scottish Parliament.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote for this election is 5pm Tuesday 21th April 2026.
The deadline to cancel or amend an existing proxy vote is 5pm Tuesday 21th April 2026.
The deadline for new proxy vote applications for this election is 5pm Tuesday 28th April 2026.
If you have a postal vote the date your postal voting pack will arrive depends on when you applied for a postal vote.
Election day is Thursday 7th May 2026. Polling stations will open at 7am and close at 10pm. You will be sent a poll card that will tell you where your polling place is. You do not need to show photo ID to vote in person at this election.
All information on postal and proxy votes is available via https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/registertovote
All formal information on election arrangements can be found via https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/elections
The Voting System
Scottish parliamentary elections use the additional member system (AMS) to elect 129 MSPs. Voters each have two votes: one vote for a constituency MSP, and one vote for a party on a regional basis. So you will receive two ballot papers, and for each ballot paper you place a single X against your preference from the choices listed.
Votes for the constituency are counted using the same first-past-the-post method that is used in UK parliament elections: the candidate with the most votes in that constituency wins the seat. A total of 73 MSPs are elected in this way across Scotland.
Votes on the regional list ballot are made for a party (or independent) in the region. Parties contesting a region publish a fixed list of candidates. There are eight parliamentary regions, with seven seats available in each, giving a total of 56 ‘additional members’ to the parliament. Seats are allocated to parties or independent candidates according to the number of regional votes cast, while taking into account how many constituency seats the party won within the region.
Candidates and Parties
If you are registered to vote anywhere in the Dennistoun Community Council area, your constituency will be either Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn constituency (this constituency includes the majority of the DCC area); or Glasgow Central constituency (for the Reidvale portion of the DCC area, south of Duke Street). The list of parties and candidates are the same for all voters in the Glasgow Region.
Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn Constituency
Audrey Dempsey – Reform UK
Josephine MacLeod – Conservative and Unionist Party
Ivan McKee – Scottish National Party (SNP)
Nicholas Christopher Moohan – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Kenneth Nwosu – Scottish Common Party
Paul John Sweeney – Scottish Labour and Co-operative Party
Glasgow Central Constituency
Naveed Asghar – Conservative and Unionist Party
Paul Bennie – Reform UK
Paul Donald Kennedy – Scottish Liberal Democrats
Vonnie Sandlan – Scottish Labour Party
Alison Thewliss – Scottish National Party (SNP)
Glasgow Region List
Alliance to Liberate Scotland – Manifesto (Tommy Sheridan, Dhruva Kumar, Gail Sheridan, Hilda McMahon)
Independence for Scotland Party – Manifesto (Paul Steele)
Independent Green Voice – Manifesto (Alistair McConnachie)
Reform UK – Manifesto (Thomas Jordan Kerr, Kim Schmulian, Audrey Dempsey, Allan Lyons, Paul Bennie, Aimee Alexander, Sean O’Hagan, Gordon Millar)
Scottish Christian Party “Proclaiming Christ’s Lordship” – Manifesto (John Cormack)
Scottish Common Party – Manifesto (Kamran Butt, Adnan Zafar Rafiq, Thomas Adkins, Kenneth Ifeanyi Nwosu)
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party – Manifesto (Annie Wells, Sandesh Gulhane, Ross Hutton, Kyle Park, John Murray, Josephine MacLeod, Daniel Bowman)
Scottish Family Party – Manifesto (Andrew John Brady, John Paul McArthur, Michael James O’Hara, Agnes Gallagher)
Scottish Green Party – Manifesto (Patrick Harvie, Holly Bruce, Iris Duane, Rana Noor Aly Adel Kotb Mohamed, Kit Sebastian Renard, Isabel Antonia Ruffell)
Scottish Labour Party – Manifesto (Anas Sarwar, Pauline McNeill, Paul Sweeney, Monica Lennon, James Adams, Vonnie Sandlan, Eunis Jassemi)
Scottish Liberal Democrats – Manifesto (Daniel John Khan-O’Malley, Paul Donald Kennedy, James Speirs, Rachel Mary Byrne Park, Peter Michael McLaughlin, Amy Carman, Verity Woolley)
Scottish National Party (SNP) – Manifesto (Alison Thewliss, Ivan McKee, Kaukab Stewart, David Linden, Graham Michael Campbell, Colm Paul Merrick, Declan Stephen Blench, Zen Ghani, Annette Christie, Abdul Bostani, Adekemi Giwa, Qasim Hanif)
Scottish Socialist Party – Manifesto (Liam McLaughlan, Olivia Murphy, Bill Bonnar)
UK Independence Party (UKIP) – Manifesto (Donald MacKay, Ian Garbutt, Lynda Davis, Laurence Keeley)
Workers Party of Britain – Manifesto (Yvonne Ridley, George Galloway, Catherine McKernan, Laura Jones)
Independent: Elspeth Lynn Kerr – Website
Independent: Craig Houston – Website
Further Information
Comparison of policies of the major parties: https://scotvote26.org/
An easy read explainer of how voters in Scotland are represented in the Scottish Parliament: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zng6b7h
The AMS voting system explained in detail: https://ballotbox.scot/scottish-parliament/ams-explained/
Glasgow Easterhouse and Springburn constituency candidates: https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/sp.c.glasgow-easterhouse-and-springburn.2026-05-07/glasgow-easterhouse-and-springburn/
Glasgow Central constituency candidates: https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/sp.c.glasgow-central.2026-05-07/glasgow-central/
Glasgow Region List candidates: https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/sp.r.glasgow.2026-05-07/glasgow/
Election oversight and information: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/
Opinion polls: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2026_Scottish_Parliament_election
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