Why Become an MSP?

There are lots of reasons to consider putting yourself forward for election as an MSP candidate.

MSPs choose the First Minister who in turn chooses his or her Ministers from the 129 elected MSPs. Those Ministers form the government, known as the Executive.

MSPs make decisions about issues that have been devolved to the Scottish Parliament. These include areas of enormous concern to the Scottish people, such as:

  • Health
  • Education
  • Law
  • Transport
  • Economic development

Powers of the Scottish Parliament


Scotland was granted devolution by the passing of the Scotland Act in 1998 which means that Scotland has a parliament with devolved powers within the United Kingdom. Any powers which remain with the UK Parliament at Westminster are reserved.

The Scottish Parliament is able to pass laws on all devolved matters. These include health, education, training, local government, social work, planning, housing and economic development.

The Scottish Parliament can make laws about devolved issues without them having to be approved by the UK Parliament. While the UK Parliament can still make laws for Scotland it will not normally make a law on a devolved matter without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. The Scottish Parliament also has limited power to raise or lower the rate of tax in Scotland.

The Scottish Parliament makes decisions through debates and committees.

Debates happen in the main chamber of the Scottish Parliament. During this time MSPs debate and approve new laws. They can also ask the First Minister about the work of the Scottish Executive.

Committees are each made up of a small number of MSPs and are a central part of the work of the Scottish Parliament. They look at proposed new laws in detail to make sure they will be workable. They do this by:

  • Taking evidence from the public and experts working in the area they are looking into
  • Looking at proposed laws in detail
  • Conducting inquiries about public bodies and other institutions

The committee system is used to encourage members of the public to be involved with the Parliament.