SNP minister Graeme Dey to stand down in 2026

Higher and further education minister Graeme Dey has become the latest SNP MSP to confirm he will stand down next year.

Dey said it had been an "absolute privilege to serve" constituents in Angus South but he will not seek re-election at the Scottish Parliament vote in 2026.

A former newspaper journalist, Dey has been an MSP since 2011 and cited his age as a reason for stepping down.

He said: "Were I to be successfully re-elected, serving a further five-year term would see me approaching my 69th birthday when the 2031 elections came around. And that’s not a commitment I feel able to make.

"Be assured however, I will continue to give of my absolute best as an MSP and government minister over the coming 14 months and playing my part in seeking to deliver an SNP victory here in Angus South and across Scotland in 2026.

"And beyond that I will remain a resolute campaigner for independence."

Dey, who has served in the Sturgeon, Yousaf and Swinney governments, was sports editor of Dundee-based newspaper The Courier before entering politics.

He was made Minister for Parliamentary Business and Veterans in 2018 then Minister for Transport in 2021.

He took up his current education and skills brief in 2023, continuing then with the veterans brief.

Dey said: "It has been my absolute privilege to serve the people of Angus South and represent the SNP in the Scottish Parliament for the past 14 years.

"And to have been afforded the honour of serving as a Scottish Government minister under three different first ministers is beyond anything I could have imagined when I was first elected in 2011.

"However, I have informed the Angus South Constituency Association of my decision not to seek the nomination to be the SNP candidate in 2026."

Dey is the 13th current MSP to announce they will not seek re-election, and the 10th sitting SNP member.

Others include fellow minister Richard Lochhead and former FM Yousaf, as well as Audrey Nicoll, Ruth Maguire and Michelle Thomson. Reasons given range from health to family responsibilities.