The Scottish Parliament Election is due to take place on the 7th May 2026. This page will share some of our plans for influencing candidates and ensuring our members are updated with all relevant developments. It will also provide some tips, tools, and links for members to safely and legally engage with election candidates and campaign on issues which matter to them.
| 31st March | Joint VHS and The ALLIANCE Hustings This joint Hustings will bring together representatives from Scotland’s political parties to share their stances on health inequalities and the role of the third sector. This is a non-selective hustings so representatives from all of the main political parties have been invited. Find out more and sign up here. |
| 2nd April | Official candidate list published All candidates will be confirmed by this date. This website provides an up to date list of Constituency and Region candidates. |
| 20th April | Deadline for registering to vote You can register to vote using this link. |
| 7th May | Election Day! |
In the run up to the election, we will continue to promote the asks detailed in our Manifesto for Health Creation, published in October 2025.
These asks are:
- Create a Prevention-Centred Health System
- Prioritise Health Equity and the Right to Health
- Establish Third Sector Parity
- Improve Health Measures and Datasets
We will be raising awareness of these policy asks through direct engagement with election candidates, a social media campaign, as well as other written communications. We’d also welcome your support in spreading these messages to your own stakeholders and local candidates! Find out below how you can get involved.
Write to your local candidate(s)
Once the candidates in your local area have been confirmed, you can write to them and share your policy priorities.
We have also developed a template letter that you may wish to use. This invites candidates to prioritise health creation.
Attend our Hustings, or organise your own!
We’re holding our Joint Hustings with The ALLIANCE on the 31st March, you can find out more and sign up here.
If you wish to host your own hustings, you can find guidance on this Electoral Commission webpage.
Share your policy priorities on social media or lend your support to ours!
If you would like to promote our Manifesto for Health Creation policy asks around prevention, health equity, third sector parity, and health data, we have produced these social media graphics for you to download and use:
 Click image to download |
|
 Click image to download |
 Click image to download |
 Click image to download |
 Click image to download |
There are important rules for charities seeking to campaign on political issues ahead of an election. These are detailed on this OSCR webpage and further summarised on this SCVO page. Under Scottish charity law, your charity can campaign if:
- it is advancing your charitable purposes
- your governing document does not prevent the activity
- you are not advancing a political party, and
- you can show you are acting in the charity’s interests
We would also suggest that our members consider the Electoral Commission criteria on regulated non-party campaigners if they are planning on campaigning. We will not be registering as a regulated non‑party campaigner because we will not meet the criteria to do so.
VHS will continue to promote the asks detailed in our Manifesto for Health Creation, published in October last year, until the election. We will not meet the criteria to register as a non-party campaigner.
We will update this page on a regular basis until the election.
Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our Policy and Public Affairs Lead if you have any questions.
