The election is over, and a new parliament is setting up at Holyrood. Equality Network and Scottish Trans are looking forward to working with MSPs who wish to make Scotland a better place for LGBTQIA+ people, and all marginalised people, over the next five years. While parties had differing approaches on LGBTQIA+ rights throughout the election, we are heartened to see that promoting advances in LGBTQIA+ equality and human rights did seem to connect with many voters in Scotland. A majority of seats have been taken by parties who committed to progressing equality and human rights across Scotland in their manifestos.
We are also very glad to see the election of Scotland’s first ever trans and non-binary MSPs, Iris Duane and Q Manivannan. So often the trans and non-binary community is spoken about, but very rarely do we have the opportunity to speak for ourselves and have our voices heard, especially on a national stage. This increase in representation is also seen in the number of out LGBTQIA+ people and women of colour in the chamber. It is worth noting though that there has been a decrease in the number of women MSPs for the first time the since the Scottish Parliament reconvened.
While MSPs represent so much more than their identities, we still believe it’s vitally important for our democracy to have diverse decision makers who represent all of the people of Scotland, especially when political power has historically been held in the hands of a small number of people.
Finally, this election has seen a large turnover of MSPs, with half entering the chamber for the first time. We hope that this will offer the chance for a reset on behaviour in the chamber. The last five years has seen political debate about LGBTQIA+ people, particularly trans people, using our communities for political point scoring. We hope for better. As we said in our joint
Scottish LGBTQIA+ Manifesto 2026-2031, we believe it is the duty of all MSPs, no matter which party, to emphasise the importance of human rights and a respect for the fundamental dignity of all members of society. We should have a parliament that leads for everyone.
We stand ready to hold MSPs to account when it comes to representing the interests of and advancing the rights of LGBTQIA+ people across Scotland, and look forward to making the positive case for improving LGBTQIA+ people’s lives over the next five years. As ever, we’ll keep you updated on everything happening in the Scottish Parliament that impacts our community when it resumes again soon.
