Anas Sarwar and Kate Forbes among those shortlisted for Holyrood Political Awards

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes are among those shortlisted for this year’s Holyrood Political Awards.

Sarwar and Forbes are joined by Green MSP Gillian Mackay on the shortlist for the MSP of the Year award.

Sarwar has overseen a resurgence of his party north of the border, while Forbes recently returned to frontline politics following a spell on the backbenches under former first minister Humza Yousaf. Mackay, who was first elected in 2021, recently managed to secure cross-party support for her legislation to create buffer zones around clinics providing abortion services.

Mackay is also shortlisted in the Backbencher of the Year category alongside the SNP’s Audrey Nicoll and Michelle Thomson.

Other awards include Speaker of the Year, where Yousaf is shortlisted alongside Tory MSP Jackson Carlaw and Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur. The nominees for the Best Scot at Westminster award are Wendy Chamberlain, Stephen Flynn and Alister Jack.

Holyrood’s managing director Mandy Rhodes said: “The judging panel was impressed by the quality of the nominees and there was plenty of debate before we managed to whittle them down to our final shortlist. The MSP of the Year category in particular was the subject of much debate but we’ve ended up with three candidates who have, each in their own way, made huge contributions to Scottish politics over the past 12 months.

“The Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards continues to go from strength to strength and is now one of the fixtures of the Scottish political calendar. I look forward to another enjoyable evening this September.”

Other awards to be announced on the night include the Political Hero award where Tory MSP Liz Smith is shortlisted for her work with those affected by the scandal of disgraced surgeon Sam Eljamel. Also shortlisted in that category are Mackay for her work on buffer zones and McArthur for his attempts to build consensus around assisted dying legislation.

Shortlisted in the One to Watch category are Tory MSPs Tim Eagle and Russell Findlay and Labour MSP Martin Whitfield.

The full shortlist is as follows:

• MSP of the Year – Kate Forbes, Gillian Mackay, Anas Sarwar
• Tweet – Stephen Flynn, Murdo Fraser, Humza Yousaf
• Staffer – Dawn Barrowman, Adele Black, James Bundy
• Backbencher – Gillian Mackay, Audrey Nicoll, Michelle Thomson
• One to watch – Tim Eagle, Russell Findlay, Martin Whitfield
• Hero – Liam McArthur, Gillian Mackay, Liz Smith
• Flushable Motion – Miles Briggs, Monica Lennon, Kevin Stewart
• Powering Change – Citizen Participation and Public Petitions committee, Justice committee, Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
• Speaker of the Year – Humza Yousaf, Liam McArthur, Jackson Carlaw
• Best Scot at Westminster – Wendy Chamberlain, Alister Jack, Stephen Flynn
• Open All Hours – Sarah Boyack, Miles Briggs, Ivan McKee
• Business of Politics – Kate Forbes, Neil Gray, & trio of Daniel Johnson, Anas Sarwar and Michael Marra
• Green Giant – Sarah Boyack, Maurice Golden, Mark Ruskell

The Holyrood Garden Party and Political Awards takes place in Edinburgh on 5 September.