Holyrood election candidates for Argyll and Bute confirmed

Most of the council area is covered by the Argyll and Bute parliamentary constituency, with Helensburgh and Lomond being covered by the Dumbarton constituency.

Some of the area’s councillors are also standing to become MSPs in the election, some of them outwith either of the constituencies covered by Argyll and Bute Council.

Candidates for the two parliamentary constituencies covered by Argyll and Bute Council are listed below, in alphabetical order of the candidates’ surnames.

Argyll and Bute

The Labour Party has selected Dr Callum George, a resident doctor who is based in Oban.

Reform UK’s candidate, Councillor Amanda Hampsey, is one of three current Argyll and Bute Councillors standing in Argyll and Bute, having recently joined the party from the Conservatives. She was first elected as a councillor in 2022 for the Oban South and the Isles ward.

Councillor Tommy MacPherson will stand as an independent candidate. He has been a councillor for the South Kintyre ward since 2022 and recently announced he had joined the Restore Britain party, although he will stand as an independent and remain an independent councillor.

The SNP will be represented by Jenni Minto, who has been MSP for the area since 2021. In the most recent cabinet she was minister for public health and women’s health.

The Liberal Democrats are represented by Alan Reid, who was MP for Argyll and Bute from 2001 to 2015, and subsequently a councillor from 2017 to 2022.

Independent candidate Mick Rice will also be standing for election in Argyll and Bute.

Councillor Peter Wallace is the Conservatives’ candidate in Argyll and Bute. He recently became leader of the Conservative group on the council and was first elected for the Isle of Bute ward in 2022.

Dumbarton (covering Helensburgh and Lomond)

Jackie Baillie, MSP for the Dumbarton constituency since the Scottish Parliament was established in 1999, will stand for the Labour Party.

The Liberal Democrats will be represented by Elaine Ford, who worked in education for 22 years as a secondary school student support manager before retiring in 2024.

Lynda Hannah McEwan is standing for the Scottish Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition in the Dumbarton constituency.

Andrew Muir will stand as an independent candidate for the Dumbarton constituency for the third time in the 2026 election.

Councillor Gary Mulvaney will be the Conservative Party’s candidate, having been councillor for the Helensburgh Central ward since 2003.

Reform UK’s candidate is David Smith, who has stood for the party in two by-elections on West Dunbartonshire Council since 2024.

The SNP’s candidate will be Councillor Sophie Traynor, who has been a councillor on West Dunbartonshire Council for the Clydebank Central ward since 2022.

Argyll and Bute Councillors standing elsewhere

Councillor Maurice Corry, of the Lomond North ward, is standing for the Conservative Party in Cunninghame South, against Katy Clark (Labour), Emma Farthing-Sykes (Liberal Democrat), Patricia Gibson (SNP) and Matthew McLean (Reform UK).

Councillor Paul Kennedy, of the Helensburgh and Lomond South ward, is standing for the Liberal Democrats in Glasgow Central, against Naveed Asghar (Conservative), Paul Bennie (Reform UK), Vonnie Sandlan (Labour), Paul Steele (Independence for Scotland Party) and Alison Thewliss (SNP).

Details of any further candidates will be confirmed in due course.