Total MSPs: 129 (65 needed for majority). Result (seats):

• SNP (Scottish National Party): 58
• Labour: 17
• Reform UK: 17
• Scottish Greens: 15
• Conservatives: 12
• Liberal Democrats: 10

 Key takeaways

•  SNP remains largest party but short of a majority.
• Opposition is fragmented, with Labour and Reform tied second.
• Conservatives saw a major decline, while Greens and Lib Dems made gains

Policy context: disability & social care

• Adult Disability Payment (ADP): Scotland’s replacement for PIP, providing support for daily living and mobility needs regardless of income.
• Designed to be less assessment‑heavy and more person‑centred than UK benefits.
• Self‑Directed Support (SDS): enables people to control social care budgets (often linked to participation, including sport and community activities—highlighted in policy discussions with MSPs).
• One of Scottish Disability Sport’s key asks within the Call to Action is for a consistency of approach in removing policy barriers to physical activity and sport using the devolved powers of Adult/ Child Disability Payments and Self-Directed Support

Notable impacts in elected members

Shortly after John Swinney was confirmed as the First Minister following the procedural voting he announced a slimmed down Cabinet. Some familiar faces returned and others were shuffled about a bit. Neil Gray moves from health to justice with Angela Constance taking on the health and care Cabinet post. Given Angela Constance’s background as a social worker and mental health officer there is an obvious route to engagement and a potential sympathetic ear to the plight of people with disabilities and the barriers to sport and physical activity they face through their benefits having overseen the development of Scotland’s devolved social security system.

Shirley-Anne Somerville retains her role with social justice and housing but Jenny Gilruth moves on from education to become the Deputy FM with a finance and local government oversight. Mairi McAllan continues her impressive rise by securing the education portfolio. With no obvious background in the sector it is set to be a baptism of fire for her given the rhetoric surrounding the SNP’s performance on improving education in their twenty-years in power. The pragmatic Ivan McKee is elevated to a Cabinet post with a view to potentially beginning to broach the oft-mentioned £5 billion shortfall annual spending gap.  

Sport retains an explicit reference in a junior ministerial position, as it was within the last Scottish Government and, as widely expected, the previous incumbent Maree Todd has been awarded this area again with a slightly wider portfolio of Minister for mental wellbeing, public health, sport, alcohol & drugs policy. Although missing out in her constituency, Maree was elected via the Regional list.

Another junior minister that will certainly hold a relevance to the areas of work are Simita Kumar who follows Kaukab Stewart as the Minister for Equalities. Kaukab was an ally for disability sport and SDS engaged strongly with her team through the implementation of the first phase of the Disability Equality Plan which resulted in a successful bid to the Improving Access Fund to support young people in accessing coaching and leadership opportunities in sport.

As we know, disability cuts across a number of portfolio areas so engagement with those mentioned above from a Scottish Government perspective will be key to securing positive outcomes related to the SDS Call to Action.  

A number of MSPs who were very pro-sport have left (either not standing again or not re-elected). The CEO of Bowls Scotland (and former Strategic Partnerships Manager for sportscotland) Malcom Dingwall-Smith astutely points out that five former MSPs who held responsibility for sport either at Cabinet or Junior level have departed – along with a number of others who championed sport (and often disability sport) in the chamber and on strategic committees.

Previously, two of the biggest supporters of disability rights were Jeremy Balfour – who moved from a Conservative to an Independent MSP towards the end of the last term – and Pam Duncan-Glancy – who was a Labour MSP for the majority of the last parliament before becoming an Independent in the final few months. Together, they often fought for disability rights and convened the Cross-Party Group on Disability. Both are disabled – Pam was the first permanent wheelchair user in the Scottish Parliament and a frontbencher – and were strong advocates of inclusion and accessibility for people with disabilities. Both Jeremy and Pam will not be represented in the Scottish Parliament in 2026.

The Scottish Green Party have made gains in representation and as the party with the most explicit referencing to disability within their manifesto, there are likely to be routes to engagement there.

 Useful Links: Election 2026 | Scottish Parliament Website