Former SNP MP Mhairi Black has ruled herself out from standing at the Holyrood election in 2026.
The Herald asked the SNP this morning if Ms Black was standing.
The former SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South took to X this afternoon to say she was not putting her name forward.
"I hear journalists are wondering if I’ve put my name in for the Scottish Parliament. Big news re 2026 coming in the next hour…watch this space," she wrote on X.
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Later she added: "I'm not."
Her announcement comes as SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he was hoping to stand as an MSP in 2026 - and hoped some of his current and former colleagues in the Commons would do so too.
"I also hope not to be alone on a potential path to Holyrood. Some of my current and former colleagues in Westminster, as well as many outwith the world of politics, will hopefully be aiming for elected office in Edinburgh. And that can only be a good thing," he wrote in the P&J this morning.
Ms Black, who was MP from May 2015 to July 2024, announced in June last year that she would not be standing for re-election to Westminster.
Her decision was met with disappointment at the time by the former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who said she was “gutted” Ms Black would be standing down at the general election.
Ms Sturgeon said she hoped Ms Black’s departure from politics would be “temporary” and expressed a wish for her to stand for Holyrood.
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