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Scottish Parliamentary election 2026

Publication date
24 February 2026

What it is

Scottish Parliamentary elections take place at least every 5 years.

The next Scottish Parliamentary election will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

When you vote in a Scottish Parliamentary election, you’re voting for Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSP).

You’ll have 2 votes in the election:

  • one for a local constituency MSP
  • one for a regional MSP.

Constituency MSPs

You’ll vote for an MSP to represent your local area – called a constituency.

There are 3 Scottish Parliamentary constituencies within Renfrewshire.

  • Paisley
  • Renfrewshire North and Cardonald (previously named Renfrewshire North and West)
  • Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley (previously named Renfrewshire South).

Find your constituency (Boundaries Scotland).

Regional MSPs

Scotland is divided into 8 electoral regions for a Scottish Parliamentary election. A region is a larger area which covers several constituencies.

Renfrewshire is part of the West of Scotland region.

You’ll vote for a political party or independent candidate to represent your region.

Find out more about Scottish Parliamentary elections.

When the election will take place

Elections to the Scottish Parliament will take place on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 7 May 2026.  

Votes will be counted from 9am on Friday 8 May 2026. 

Who can vote in the election

To vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026, you must:

  • be aged 16 or older on the day of the election (‘polling day’)
  • be registered to vote
  • be registered at an address in the area you want to vote in.

You must also be one of the following:

  • a British citizen
  • an Irish citizen
  • a foreign national of another country who is permitted to enter or stay in the UK.

Register to vote

You must register to vote by Monday 20 April 2026 to vote in the Scottish Parliamentary election.

You only need to register to vote once, not for every election.

You’ll need to register to vote again if you have moved house or changed your address.

Register to vote online (GOV.UK)

If you change your name or your nationality, you should contact your Electoral Registration Office to change your existing registration by:

How to vote

Vote at a polling station

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10am on polling day (Thursday 7 May 2026).

You can visit your allocated polling station during these hours to vote in-person. 

If you have registered to vote, you’ll receive a polling card letter in the post. This will tell you what polling station to go to on polling day.

You should check where the polling station is located, as this may have changed since you last voted.

Polling card letters should start to be sent by post from 17 March 2026.

If you do not receive your polling card, contact the Electoral Registration Office by:

You do not need your polling card letter to vote, but it saves time at the polling station if you take it with you.

When you arrive at your polling station, you’ll be asked for your name and address. If you wish to do this in private, please let a member of polling staff know who will arrange this for you.

Polling staff will provide you with your ballot paper to allow you to vote.

Vote by post

If you're not able to vote in person on polling day, you can apply to vote by post.

You’ll need to apply for a postal vote in advance of polling day.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote for the Scottish Parliament election 2026 is 5pm on Tuesday 21 April 2026.

If you have not applied for a postal vote by this date, you can only vote at your polling station on polling day, unless you appoint someone to vote on your behalf as your proxy.

To apply for a postal vote, download and fill in the paper form (Electoral Commission)

Post the form to your Electoral Registration Office at:

Electoral Registration Officer
Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board
Renfrewshire House
Cotton Street
Paisley
PA1 1BF

After you’ve applied, you will receive your postal vote ballot pack by post.

Make sure you have posted your vote in time to arrive by Thursday 7 May 2026.

If you have not posted it in time, you can hand your completed postal vote in to any polling station in your constituency.

Find out more about voting by post.

Vote by proxy

A proxy vote is where someone you trust votes on your behalf at your allocated polling station.  

The person voting on your behalf is called your proxy.

Like a postal vote, you’ll need to apply for a proxy vote in advance of polling day.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote for the Scottish Parliamentary election 2026 is 5pm on Monday 28 April 2026.

If you have an existing postal or proxy, you cannot change this after 5pm on 21 April 2026.

To apply for a proxy vote, download and fill in the paper form (GOV.UK).

Post the form to your Electoral Registration Office at:

Electoral Registration Officer 
Renfrewshire Valuation Joint Board 
Renfrewshire House 
Cotton Street 
Paisley 
PA1 1BF

After you have applied, we'll send a proxy poll card to the person you have chosen with details of how to vote.

Your proxy will have to go to your allocated polling station to cast your vote on polling day.  

They cannot cast their own vote at your allocated polling station. They must do this at their allocated polling station.

If you appoint a proxy, you can still vote at your polling station as long as your proxy has not already voted on your behalf or arranged a postal vote.

Your proxy can apply to vote by post before 5pm on 21 April 2026. This is called a postal proxy vote.

Find out more about voting by proxy.

Emergency proxy vote

If the proxy vote deadline has passed, you may be able to apply for an emergency proxy vote if:

  • you cannot vote in person because of a medical emergency or disability
  • you're not able to vote in person because of work or military service
  • you’re accompanying someone who is receiving medical treatment
  • you’re detained in prison
  • your existing proxy cannot attend the polling station
  • your postal vote won’t arrive in time.

A medical emergency must have happened after 5pm on 28 April 2026, or you were unable to apply if the emergency took place before this date.

Emergency proxy applications can be made up to 5pm on polling day.

You can contact the Electoral Registration Office by:

Changes to constituencies

The following changes to the Scottish Parliamentary electoral boundaries for constituencies in Renfrewshire come into effect at the Scottish Parliament election 2026:

Changes to Renfrewshire North and West constituency

The Renfrewshire North and West constituency has been renamed the Renfrewshire North and Cardonald constituency. This constituency will now include the entire Glasgow Cardonald Council Ward. 

If you live in Cardonald, your polling card letter will be issued by Renfrewshire Council.

Your usual polling place may have changed. If you’re voting in person, it’s important that you check the details shown on your polling card letter before voting.

Although your voting constituency has changed, all electoral registration for your address in Cardonald will continue to be managed by Glasgow City Council.

If you live in Cardonald, you can find out more about changes to your voting arrangements.

Changes to Renfrewshire South constituency 

The Renfrewshire South constituency has been renamed Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley.

Changes to Paisley constituency

The Paisley constituency will keep its name but will have some boundary changes, including the return of Glasgow Airport to the constituency and changes to the constituency at the Phoenix Retail Park.

Results of Scottish Parliamentary election 2026

The counting of votes will take place at Braehead Arena from 9am on Friday 8 May 2026.

The results for each constituency and the West of Scotland region will be announced once the count is completed.

Previous Scottish Parliamentary election results

The most recent Scottish Parliamentary election took place on 6 May 2021.  

See the results of the Scottish Parliamentary election 2021.