By Richard Wood
The 2026 election will be the first Scottish election with restrictions on dual mandates following new regulations after the Scottish Government consulted on the issue in early 2025. The decision followed Stephen Flynn MP’s declaration that he would retain his Westminster role if elected as an MSP in 2026.
Dual mandates have long been a small but persistent problem needing fixed – dual mandate holders cannot effectively represent their constituents due to practical time and location constraints with MSPs and MPs being full-time positions.
The developments following Flynn’s announcement were extremely welcome and spurred the government into action.
New regulations
On 2 September 2025, the Scottish Government introduced three regulations on disqualifying MPs, councillors and members of the House of Lords from the Scottish Parliament.
They were reviewed by the Scottish Parliament, led by the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee, and approved on 30 October 2025.
The regulations took effect on 31 October 2025, but the new limits on dual mandates will only apply to MSPs from the next Scottish Parliament election on Thursday 7 May 2026.
READ MORE: Stephen Flynn MSP-MP in 2026? A dual mandates ban is overdue
MSP-MPs
The Scottish Parliament (Disqualification of Members of the House of Commons) regulation bans MSPs from being MPs.
However, any MP elected to Holyrood or any MSP elected to Westminster will have a 49 day grace period to resign from one of those roles.
For example, if Stephen Flynn MP is elected as an MSP in May, he will have 49 days to step down from his MP roles.
MSP-Lords
Similarly, the Scottish Parliament (Disqualification of Members of the House of Lords) regulation disqualifies MSPs from becoming peers at the same time as disqualifying peers from becoming MSPs.
However, there is also a grace period – this time much shorter – of 14 days, during which a peer elected to Holyrood or vice versa must step down from one of their roles.
READ MORE: Scotland must follow Wales on four-year terms
MSP-councillors
The new regulations also cover MSP-councillors, which is a slightly different kettle of fish due to councillors being part-time positions.
The Scottish Parliament (Disqualification of Councillors) regulations bans MSPs councillors.
If an MSP becomes a councillor, they can stay as an MSP for 49 days. But if a councillor becomes an MSP, they can stay as an MSP either until the next council election if it’s within 372 days, or for 49 days if the election is further away.
In practice, this means that any councillors elected at the May 2026 election can retain their council role until local authority elections in May 2027.
READ MORE: Why we need to ban dual mandates
Next steps
The dual mandate bans are a welcome addition to Scotland’s democracy, ensuring that constituents can be effectively represented at multiple layers of government.
Grace periods are a sensible solution to allow for adjustments, and while the extended councillor-MSP grace period is a practical addition to limited impacts on local government, this should be monitored to see how effective it really is.
READ MORE: Will the Scottish Parliament change its voting system?
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