Scottish elections 2026: Meet the candidates fighting for your vote in Falkirk East & Linlithgow

​Amanda Bland – Reform UK

Amanda was born in Scotland, resides in the Falkirk area and has dedicated 35 years to front line public service, building a career focused on supporting people and strengthening communities.

Her professional background spans roles in law, child protection, safeguarding and education; she is a qualified and experienced teacher.

Throughout her career, she has held senior leadership positions, where she has been responsible for delivering meaningful, practical outcomes for individuals and families.

She brings this same results driven approach to her candidacy, with a clear focus on making a tangible difference for local people.

She is determined to put the people of Falkirk East and Linlithgow first.

She will listen to your concerns, she will be your voice, she will work hard to make change happen, she will be your champion, she will be there for you.

Everyday issues need real solutions – Falkirk East and Linlithgow deserve action not excuses. The voice of locals will not be ignored any longer.

Vote Reform. Together, let’s see what we can do to make that change happen.

​Martyn Day – Scottish National Party

The people of the Falkirk East and Linlithgow constituency deserve an experienced and proven representative who will be on your side in the Scottish Parliament.

Martyn Day is proud to call this constituency home. Born in Falkirk and raised in Linlithgow where he still lives, Martyn also has family connections in Grangemouth and Bo’ness. With 25 years of elected experience, including almost a decade as a local Member of Parliament, Martyn has a proven track record as a local activist and has helped thousands of people across our communities.

Martyn Day and the SNP are firmly focused on what matters most to the people of Scotland – tackling the Westminster cost of living crisis, continuing to improve the performance of our NHS and taking our enormous energy wealth into our own hands.

At a time when the entirety of the Westminster government has descended into chaos, Martyn Day is focused on delivering for the people living in our communities right here and across Scotland.

At a time when people are facing sky-high food costs, energy bills and petrol prices, you need a government that is focused on taking action to support you. Instead, you have a Westminster establishment that is engulfed in scandal and asleep at the wheel.

While Westminster stands by, the SNP will take action on the cost of living – with bold plans to bring down the cost of food in supermarkets, cap bus fares at £2 and provide more support to families with the cost of childcare. The best people to make decisions about Scotland are the people who live here.

Voters in our communities deserve an MSP who will stand up for you when it matters most. Having served most of this constituency as your MP, Martyn knows what it takes and will ensure every constituent can access his services through a constituency office, regular surgeries and a commitment to home visits.

Martyn is best placed to deliver this commitment following May’s election.

Martyn Day will be the reliable, experienced representative that you need during these tough times. Martyn will take real action to support people, and will always put Scotland’s interests first.

At this election, we can not only deliver an SNP Government on Scotland’s side. We have the opportunity to deliver an SNP majority that will unlock the fresh start of independence – meaning Scotland is free from Westminster scandal and chaos for good.

​Ian Wallace El-Paget – Independent

Falkirk is a community people are proud of. But pride alone is not enough because when serious problems are rising and systems are under pressure, we need more than goodwill. We need action.

Take one stark reality: serious sexual offence cases are increasing, yet understanding of the law has not kept pace. Young people are navigating complex situations without clear knowledge of legal boundaries, and the consequences can be life-changing.

We also cannot forget Covid-19. Communities stepped up, but too often, people were left waiting, unsure where to turn. Support was reactive, coordination was inconsistent, and vulnerable people were not reached quickly enough.

These are not isolated problems. At a time when families are already under pressure from the cost of living, they affect households, young people, businesses, and communities across Falkirk and Linlithgow.

Through my work in community resilience here in Falkirk, I have seen both where the system works, and where it breaks down. That is why I am standing as an independent candidate, focused on practical solutions that work in real life.

First, I propose a Falkirk Community Resilience Pilot, bringing together local organisations, volunteers, and public services into a coordinated network of resilience hubs. This is about making sure that when the next challenge comes, whether it’s a health crisis, economic pressure, or extreme weather, support is ready, connected, and effective, while reducing pressure on frontline services like the NHS through better coordination and early support.

Second, we must prevent harm before it happens. I will deliver a legal education pilot on sexual offences, working with legal and education professionals to give people clear, practical understanding of the law. Because when people understand the boundaries, we reduce harm at its source.

Third, Falkirk is more diverse than ever. Our immigrant communities are a key part of that. They bring skills, knowledge, experience, and different ways of doing things that we are not yet making the most of. Too often, that potential remains untapped.

By creating opportunities for knowledge-sharing across communities, whether in education, business, or practical life skills, we can unlock that value, support local jobs, small businesses, and economic opportunity, strengthen resilience, and build better outcomes for everyone in Falkirk and Linlithgow.

​Paul McGarry – Scottish Lib Dems

I am delighted to have been selected as the Scottish Liberal Democrats candidate for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, and to be leading my party's list for the Central Scotland and Lothians West region.

I have spent 15 years campaigning for the people of this area. In that time I have worked as a safety training consultant, helping workers in high-risk industries across Scotland and England come home safely every day. I am a volunteer youth worker, an active member of my local church, and I hold the role of housing and homelessness spokesperson for the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

That last role is one I take personally. My adult life began at 16, when I found myself homeless as a teenager. I know what it means to be on your own and struggling. That experience is why I have spent 15 years fighting for people who find themselves in that situation, and it is why I am standing now.

I am personally proud that our manifesto takes housing seriously. We will return housebuilding to a level that delivers 25,000 new homes each year, and we will create a new key worker housing programme so that finding a home is never a barrier to taking a job in a community that needs you.

These are not abstract targets. They are the difference between a young person having somewhere safe to live or ending up where I once did.

People across Falkirk East and Linlithgow feel like things are not working. Household bills are soaring. Waits to see a GP are far too long. Small businesses feel overlooked and undervalued. And the workers at Grangemouth deserve certainty about their future, not warm words and delay.

Scottish Liberal Democrats believe in fairness for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from. We will deliver first-rate healthcare so you can see your GP, dentist or mental health specialist when you need them.

We will cut bills by insulating cold homes and using Scotland's own renewable energy. We will fix our roads, ferries and public transport.

We will get Scottish education back to its best by expanding pupil support in every school.

And we will stand with the workers at Grangemouth, ensuring the site becomes central to Scotland's clean energy future.

Liberal Democrats are winning again, and particularly with your peach ballot, you have a chance to elect a Scottish Liberal Democrat, and polls currently put us neck and neck for a seat.

Falkirk East and Linlithgow deserves better. And with the Scottish Liberal Democrats, you can vote for it.

​Siobhan Paterson – Scottish Labour

For more than 20 years I've worked in children and families social work and served as a councillor for the Upper Braes for the last four. I've dedicated my career to supporting vulnerable people and strengthening our community.

My professional experience, together with years volunteering, strengthened my determination to ensure that every one has the chance to thrive. As a mother of two young daughters, my motivation to build a better future for Falkirk was stronger than ever.

I ran a local events page to support families in finding activities and services in the area and used my platform to organise tree planting and litter picking events.

Since becoming a councillor, I have worked to protect school hours, stop pool closures, stop bus cuts and protect local parks.

I have strengthened protections for women and children in Falkirk and I have used my platform to host workshops to empower women.

I am active in my community, supporting local campaigns and working hard to make a positive impact.

I am proud of what I have been able to achieve as a councillor, but the frustration of two decades of an SNP government has motivated me to stand as a Member of Scottish Parliament. We need a Scottish Government that is willing and able to focus on getting the basics right.

Our NHS, our education system and our local services have all been under the control of the SNP for twenty years and we have seen a decline in standards in every area. Local council funding has faced cuts year on year.

Councils are forced to ask residents to pay more whilst services are getting worse. Local health services, community halls and education services all suffer as a result.

Fly tipping and potholes go unaddressed due to lack of funding from this SNP government. Their political choices have led us here. I want to focus on getting the basics right.

I hope I have demonstrated my dedication, determination and commitment to this area. I am ready to be a strong, dependable voice for Falkirk East and Linlithgow in the Scottish Parliament.

If you agree with me that we need to focus on getting the basics right, I hope that on May 7 you go out and put an X against my name.

​Lewis Stein – Scottish Conservative

I am proud to be standing as your Scottish Conservative and Unionist candidate for the Falkirk East and Linlithgow constituency.

If I am fortunate enough to be elected as your MSP, I believe I will bring fresh energy and real-life experience to the Scottish Parliament.

I grew up working in the family business. That gave me first-hand experience of the pressures facing local employers and the long hours they had to work to make it a success.

Local businesses are struggling right now. Labour’s National Insurance hikes have been a tax on jobs and the SNP’s disastrous recent revaluation scheme will see many firms go to the wall.

We are the party of business and our communities deserve an MSP who will always stand up for them.

The SNP have been in power for almost two decades and this constituency cannot afford them to stay in charge. I started school in 2008, the year after they came to power, and thanks to the failures of the SNP, my generation are not receiving the education they deserve.

Our health service is also in a state of permanent crisis after two decades of the SNP. A&E waiting times have soared, far too many patients are spending too long on waiting lists, and everyone knows about the 8am rush for a GP appointment.

And people in this constituency are forced to pay the highest taxes across the UK. Those who work hard and are aspirational are being punished and too many families are struggling to cope as other bills soar through the roof.

But all of these issues don’t get a look in under the SNP. They are distracted by their only priority: independence.

And Swinney has made it clear that every vote for the SNP in this election is a vote for another independence referendum, possibly as soon as 2028.

We cannot let that happen. That’s why this election matters so much.

You get two votes in a Scottish Parliament election. One on a lilac ballot paper to elect a constituency MSP and a vote on a peach ballot paper to elect regional MSPs.

If pro-UK voters use their peach ballot paper to back the Scottish Conservatives then you will get MSPs like me who will be focused on what really matters to you. The cost-of-living crisis, fixing our public services and fighting for local jobs.

I’d be honoured if you vote for me on May 7 and I promise you will be getting a strong local voice to represent you in Holyrood.