EXCLUSIVE: Irshad Ahmad shocked party figures by defeating long-standing MSPs Daniel Johnson and Martin Whitfield to top the Edinburgh and Lothians East list.
15:41, 20 Feb 2026Updated 17:49, 21 Feb 2026
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and deputy Jackie Baillie(Image: Getty)
A former Alba candidate and recent convert to Labour has pulled off a shock win in a Holyrood selection for his new party.
Irshad Ahmad, who has also stood for the SNP in the past, beat sitting MSPs Daniel Johnson and Martin Whitfield to top the Edinburgh and Lothians East List.
Party insiders said they were shocked when Ahmad came first – giving him an excellent chance of becoming an MSP.
One source: “Nobody saw it coming. It is bizarre.”
Most of Labour’s current MSPs are elected on the eight regional lists and the party informed candidates of their rankings today for the May 7th poll.
The biggest shock was Ahmad topping a List which included many long-standing members.
A businessman, Ahmad was selected by local Labour members recently as their constituency candidate for Edinburgh North Western. He has now come first on the regional List.
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His switch to Labour from the nationalist camp is the latest chapter in a varied political story.
He was a Lothians List candidate for the SNP in 2016 when Nicola Sturgeon was in charge, but missed out on election.
He then tried to dislodge the then MSP Ash Regan as the SNP candidate in Edinburgh Eastern in 2020, accusing her of lacking commitment to independence. He quit the SNP and stood for Alba at the 2021 Holyrood election.
Labour activist Katherine Sangster came second on the Edinburgh and Lothians East List, followed by Johnson, lawyer Catriona Munro and Whitfield.
In Glasgow, leader Anas Sarwar came first, followed by sitting MSPs Pauline McNeill, Paul Sweeney and Monica Lennon.
Lennon, currently a Central Scotland MSP, faces a tough fight to get re-elected to Holyrood.
In the North East Scotland region, MSP Michael Marra – tipped as a potential successor to Sarwar – came first, with Heather Doran in second place.
In South Scotland, MSP Carol Mochan is the lead candidate, followed by councillor Joe Fagan, Linda Dorward and Ewan Macphee.
Sitting MSP Davy Russell came eighth in South, but party sources are confident he will hold his Hamilton seat in May.
In West Scotland, the order for those at the top of the List is Jackie Baillie, Neil Bibby, Katy Clark and Paul O’Kane.
In Mid Scotland and Fife, the top four are MSP Claire Baker, Joe Long, Fiona Sword and Kainde Manji.
In Central Scotland and Lothians West, the lead candidate is MSP Mark Griffin, followed by Jenny Young, former UK Government special adviser Kieron Higgins and councillor Siobhan Paterson.
In Highlands and Islands, Isla McCay was first and Donald MacKinnon came second.