Review needed of policy allowing foreign nationals with limited leave to remain to stand for election

This is just one of the recommendations from the Scottish Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee in a new report published today.

The report follows the Committee’s consideration of the Scottish Local Government Elections (Candidacy Rights of Commonwealth Citizens) Bill. This Bill was introduced to correct an error in the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025.

The 2025 Act extended candidacy rights at Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections to all foreign citizens with limited leave to remain in the UK. However, an error meant that this right had not been extended to Commonwealth citizens with limited leave to remain.

In considering the Bill, the Committee noted that it had been introduced to correct an error. However, the report states that the Committee does not accept the premise that there should be a general right for non-UK citizens with limited leave to remain to be councillors or MSPs.

During the Committee’s consideration of the Bill, it heard that Scotland’s position in allowing people with limited leave to remain to stand for election makes it a relative outlier in this area. 

Speaking as the report was launched, Committee Convener Jenni Minto MSP said:

"It is vital that Scotland has elected representatives who look like the communities they represent. This diversity helps build trust in our elected institutions.

“But we know that this trust is fragile, and so careful consideration needs to be given to all electoral reform that come before us.

“The changes that allowed people with limited leave to remain to stand for election should be reconsidered. They appear to have run ahead of what the public want and the rationale for making the change is simply not clear.  The changes proposed by this Bill risk entrenching a policy that instead needs looked at again.”

The Committee has also noted evidence about the growth of geopolitical tensions and how these could play out in an electoral system where rules on candidates’ eligibility are to a large extent self-policing. Given this, it calls for “a practical, pragmatic and hard-headed" approach to future electoral reform.

The Committee also calls on the Scottish Government to ensure more data is collected about candidates, including details of their nationality and visa status, in order to have a better understanding of the extent to which candidates are reflective of communities.