Scotland's MSP–councillor rules and pay from 2026

If you teach politics or you’re simply curious about how Scotland runs elections, here’s the change to learn this week. The Scottish Government has made the Scottish Parliament (Disqualification of Councillors) Regulations 2025. They were signed on Thursday 30 October 2025 and come into force on Friday 31 October 2025, but they only bite from the day of the next Holyrood general election. That poll is scheduled for Thursday 7 May 2026, so the new rules start to matter then. Source names to know: legislation.gov.uk for the instrument; the Electoral Commission for election dates.

Why now? Earlier this year, the Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform) Act 2025 gave ministers the power to stop ‘dual mandates’-where one person holds two political roles at once-and to build in fair grace periods so people are not forced to resign overnight. Ministers have already used that power to cover MPs and members of the House of Lords. These new Regulations use the same power for local councillors and the Scottish Parliament. You can read the enabling sections in the 2025 Act on legislation.gov.uk.

The headline rule you’ll explain to students is simple: being a councillor is now a reason you can be disqualified from being an MSP. That change is written by modifying section 15 of the Scotland Act 1998 and then carving out short, clearly defined exceptions so voters are not left without representation during handovers. The Scottish Government’s equality impact assessment (EqIA) sets out the policy aim in plain terms: one person, one role at a time.

Two timers do the heavy lifting. First, the 49‑day rule. If you are already an MSP and you are later returned as a councillor, you have 49 days from the day you are “returned” to settle the clash. In election law, “returned” means declared elected. If you do nothing, you cannot continue as an MSP after the 49 days. This is spelled out in the Regulations and summarised in the Government’s EqIA; the Electoral Commission’s own glossaries help with the term “returned”.

Second, the 372‑day window. If you are a councillor who then wins a seat at Holyrood, the rule depends on how close the next ordinary council election is. If the next council poll is within 372 days of your MSP election day, you can finish your council term and step down at that election. If it is further away than 372 days, the 49‑day clock applies instead. The phrase “expected day of the next ordinary election of councillors” comes from timing rules in the Representation of the People Act 1983, as updated by the 2025 Act to allow limited postponement of local polls.

There is also a pay rule designed to stop double remuneration. When someone serves as both an MSP and a councillor during a permitted overlap, the Scottish Parliament must reduce the MSP salary by the amount of basic councillor pay for the same period. Basic councillor pay is set nationally under regulations made under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. For 2025–26, the Scottish Government states that the basic councillor salary is £25,982; the latest amendment instrument on legislation.gov.uk shows how the bands and rates are set.

Timing really matters for classrooms and case studies. Although the Regulations are legally in force from 31 October 2025, the disqualification and pay‑offset provisions only kick in from the day of the next Scottish Parliament general election. In practice, that means Thursday 7 May 2026. The 2025 Act expressly lets ministers include this kind of temporary exception for serving MSPs until the next ordinary general election, which is why you’ll see this delayed “switch‑on” in the instrument.

Try this scenario with your students. A serving MSP wins a council by‑election on 5 June 2026. From 5 June, they have 49 days to choose one role. If they keep both beyond that window, they cannot remain an MSP under the new rules. This is exactly what the 49‑day exception was built to manage-orderly handovers without leaving residents unrepresented. The Scottish Government’s EqIA summarises this approach.

Or flip it. A councillor elected in May 2022 wins an MSP seat on 7 May 2026. The next ordinary council elections are due on Thursday 6 May 2027, which falls within 372 days of 7 May 2026. Under the Regulations, that councillor‑turned‑MSP can serve both roles until the 2027 council poll. During that overlap, the MSP salary is reduced by the basic councillor amount so the public does not pay twice. Check dates with the Electoral Commission’s published timetables and council‑election guidance.

Quick study notes for media literacy. When you read a statutory instrument, look for three separate ideas: the date it is made, the date it comes into force, and the moment the changes actually apply in real life. Here, “made” was 30 October 2025, “in force” is 31 October 2025, and “applies” means the day of the poll at the next Scottish Parliament general election-7 May 2026. Keep the source names visible in your materials: legislation.gov.uk for the law; gov.scot for the policy notes and EqIA; and the Electoral Commission for confirmed election dates.