Photo © Scottish Parliament
Former Member of the Scottish Parliament
Richard Leonard
Unknown party
At a glance Richard Leonard was a Member of the Scottish Parliament.
Attendance is votes cast as a share of the 2,903 Holyrood divisions on record; Richard Leonard did not vote in 164.
Voting record
The most recent divisions Richard Leonard voted in. For, Against and Abstain are as recorded.
| 24 Mar 2026 | Railways Bill - UK Legislation | For |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill | For |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Visitor Levy (Amendment) (Scotland) Bill | For |
| 24 Mar 2026 | Restraint and Seclusion in Schools (Scotland) Bill | For |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill | For |
| 19 Mar 2026 | Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s 8th Report, 2026 (Session 6) | For |
| 18 Mar 2026 | Greyhound Racing (Offences) (Scotland) Bill | For |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill | Against |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill | Against |
| 17 Mar 2026 | Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Bill | For |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Approval of SSI | For |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Approval of SSI | For |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Approval of SSI | For |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Approval of SSI | For |
| 11 Mar 2026 | Business Programme | For |
Questions
Richard Leonard has tabled 963 questions in the Scottish Parliament.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the names of candidate operators expressing interest in the …
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to publish the names of candidate operators expressing interest in the Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 (NIFS4) contract before the invitation to tender is published in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Answer · Jim Fairlie · 24 Mar 2026
The Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 will be competitively procured via the restricted procedure in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015. Transport Scotland has no plans to publish the names of interested parties before the issue of the invitation to tender.
To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the Prior Information Notice published on 4 March 2026, whether it p…
To ask the Scottish Government, with reference to the Prior Information Notice published on 4 March 2026, whether it plans to exercise powers under Regulation 29(8) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015 to set a time limit on the receipt of tenders for the Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 (NIFS4) contract.
Answer · Jim Fairlie · 24 Mar 2026
Transport Scotland will set a time limit which is proportionate and appropriate for this competition. This will be applied consistently to all invited bidders and will exceed the minimum time limit of 30 days set out by Regulation 29(6).
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost to the public purse of delivering the full tender …
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the cost to the public purse of delivering the full tender process for the Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 (NIFS4) contract, and whether it anticipates to make savings through the use of the Restricted Procedure under Regulation 29 of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Answer · Jim Fairlie · 24 Mar 2026
Transport Scotland is committed to undertaking a complete procurement via the Restricted Procedure. Due attention is being given to the cost to the public purse as the specification is being developed, the impact of which will be limited by an effective tender process. There are expected to be time and resource savings through the use of the Restricted Procedure.
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to prepare a public sector bid for the the Northern Isles Ferry …
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to prepare a public sector bid for the the Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 (NIFS4) contract, which is due to start on 1 July 2028, in line with Regulation 29 (Restricted Procedure) of the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
Answer · Jim Fairlie · 24 Mar 2026
The Scottish Government does not intend to prepare a public sector bid for the Northern Isles Ferry Services 4 contract. Candidates invited to submit a tender will be selected using the Single Procurement Document process in accordance with the Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015.
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and audit checks and (b) other risk assessments Scottish Forestry car…
To ask the Scottish Government what (a) financial and audit checks and (b) other risk assessments Scottish Forestry carries out of applicants for forestry grants.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon · 20 Mar 2026
Full details of how the Scottish Government undertakes these checks and risk assessments can be found on Scottish Forestry’s website. Forestry Grant Scheme guidance on financial eligibility is set out on the How to apply page. Information on the supporting evidence required to claim funds is set out on the Claims and payments page, and the Inspections page details Scottish Forestry’s approach to claim inspection monitoring.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an enforcement powers working group for the (a) passenger ferr…
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will establish an enforcement powers working group for the (a) passenger ferry, (c) bus and tram and (c) taxi sector, similar to the rail enforcement powers working group that was established in 2025.
Answer · Fiona Hyslop · 20 Mar 2026
The safety of staff and passengers across Scotland’s transport network is a clear priority for the Scottish Government. Transport Scotland officials are assessing the Rail Enforcement Powers Working Group’s recommendations and as part of this they will examine whether these could be extended to other transport modes.
To ask the Scottish Government for what purpose Scottish Forestry has awarded grants to Jahama Highland Estates, which …
To ask the Scottish Government for what purpose Scottish Forestry has awarded grants to Jahama Highland Estates, which is part of the GFG Alliance group.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon · 20 Mar 2026
Jahama Highland Estates own two large areas of land, the western estates of Mamore and Killiechonate at Fort William and Glenshero in the upper Spey.The latest Forestry Grant Scheme award will support a landscape scale project near Fort William focused on deer management to enable the natural regeneration of over 3,000 hectares of native woodland. This will be delivered without the use of any deer fencing or planting. This is a large project restoring and expanding Caledonian pinewoods and Scotland’s rainforest by reducing herbivore browsing that is currently damaging woodland features of designated sites.Other Forestry Grant Scheme awards since 2016 to SIMEC Lochaber Hydropower 2 Ltd. have been to; produce a forest plan for existing woodlands on the estates, to remove some areas of invasive non-native rhododendron, to support the management of the native woodland to allow expansion through natural regeneration and, in Glenshero estate, to plant new native and productive woodland.
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the grants that Scottish Forestry has awarded to Jahama Highland Es…
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will list the grants that Scottish Forestry has awarded to Jahama Highland Estates, which is part of the GFG Alliance group.
Answer · Mairi Gougeon · 20 Mar 2026
The table shows the Scottish Forestry grant awards to SIMEC Lochaber Hydropower 2 Ltd. since they purchased the Jahama Highland Estate in 2016.YearReference No.Project NameGrant Value(£ millions)Activity Description202525FGS89079Mamore & Killiechonate Woodland Regeneration Part 1£2.3New Natural Regeneration&Native Woodlands Management202424FGS78639Glenshero LTFP Renewal<£0.01Forest Plan Preparation Grant201818FGS28718Creagan Breaca Woodland Creation£0.3Woodland Creation201717FGS19019Leven Valley Rhododendron Control£0.1Rhododendron Control201717FGS24477Kinlochleven Rhododendron£0.15Rhododendron Control201616FGS04694Am Maol£0.29Woodland Creation
Motions lodged
| 3 Feb 2026 | Congratulations to Woodhall, Faskine and Palacecraig Conservation Group | 6 sig. |
| 23 Jan 2026 | Recognising Footballing Legend Billy Bremner | 29 sig. |
| 4 Dec 2025 | The 2023/24 Audit of Ferguson Marine (Port Glasgow) Holdings Limited | 1 sig. |
| 1 Sep 2025 | The 2022/23 and 2023/24 Audits of the Water Industry Commission for Scotland | 1 sig. |
| 14 Apr 2025 | Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Scottish Football Supporters Association | 35 sig. |
| 20 Mar 2025 | Scotland in the Red 2024 StepChange Scotland | 24 sig. |
Speeches
Recent things Richard Leonard has said in the chamber and in committee, from the Official Report.
24 Mar 2026 Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill: Stage 3 (draft)
This is my last speech to Parliament as a member, after 10 years. As a back bencher and a front bencher, as a party leader and a committee convener, I have always tried to speak out not only for the labour and trade union movement who sent…
19 Mar 2026 Portfolio Question Time (draft)
Last month, a report commissioned by Unison into Scottish Water questioned the regulatory framework. It warned of creeping privatisation, the ripping up of trade union policies and procedures, the outsourcing not only of major capital work…
19 Mar 2026 Portfolio Question Time (draft)
I remind members of my voluntary register of trade union interests. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is content with the governance, accountability and delivery of both Scotland’s water supply and waste water treatment services. (…
19 Mar 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time (draft)
I simply ask, while there is still time, that this appeal be included in the corporate body’s legacy report to the next session of the Parliament.
19 Mar 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time (draft)
It was wonderful to see the magnificent Ian Homer Walters bust on display for the centenary of Mick McGahey’s birth, but I express my dismay to see him replaced a few weeks ago by a white marble cube. Mick McGahey was a self-taught, workin…
19 Mar 2026 Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Question Time (draft)
I remind members of my voluntary entry in the register of members’ interests. To ask the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body whether it will reinstate the bust of Michael “Mick” McGahey previously displayed in the garden lobby. (S6O-0564…
18 Mar 2026 Portfolio Question Time
I remind members of my voluntary register of trade union interests.Can I pay tribute to Kate Forbes, who, in my view, has been a breath of fresh air as an active and interventionist cabinet secretary for the economy.Yesterday, another vehi…
4 Mar 2026 Ferries
That sounds a bit more like some of the old ideology that I was referring to earlier on.Finally, let me turn to the Labour amendment, which highlights that there is a democratic deficit here. It is not just about seats on boards; I have ne…
4 Mar 2026 Ferries
If I have time.
4 Mar 2026 Ferries
Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Let me return to this point: because of persistent pressure from this Parliament’s Public Audit Committee, the Government has been required to bring in the accountants Grant Thornton to conduct a for…
4 Mar 2026 Ferries
In fact, because of persistent pressure from this Parliament’s Public Audit Committee, the Government has been required to bring in the accountants—Interruption.
4 Mar 2026 Ferries
I remind members of my voluntary register of trade union interests.It never ceases to amaze me that something just as distinctively and as quintessentially Scottish as our islands and the ferry links to them, which are a social and economi…
4 Mar 2026 Portfolio Question Time
When half an hour was supposed to be reduced from the working week on 1 April 2024, it was only partially implemented. When half an hour was supposed to be reduced from the working week on 1 April 2025, it was pulled. Now, on 1 April 2026,…
4 Mar 2026 Portfolio Question Time
I remind the chamber of my voluntary entry of trade union interests. To ask the Scottish Government whether it is confident that the changes to the working week for national health service agenda for change staff will be fully implemented …
3 Mar 2026 Ferguson Marine (draft)
I remind members of my voluntary register of trade union interests.We have said all along that we just want these workers to be given a fighting chance to win orders, so I certainly welcome today’s news.Back in October, the Deputy First Mi…
26 Feb 2026 Portfolio Question Time
I thank the cabinet secretary for that comprehensive answer. Let us turn to the facts. There has been a 43 per cent annual increase in assaults on workers on Scotland’s railways. Two thirds of rail workers have experienced workplace violen…
26 Feb 2026 Portfolio Question Time
I refer members to my voluntary register of trade union interests.To ask the Scottish Government what action it takes to ensure that public transport workers can go to work without the fear of assault. (S6O-05576)
24 Feb 2026 Scottish Parliament (Recall of Members) Bill
It is experience that is converted into determination, and articulated in the inspiring words of Angela Davis, who famously declared:“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I’m changing the things I cannot accept.”That is the…
24 Feb 2026 Scottish Parliament (Recall of Members) Bill
We all agree with the intent of this bill: that every other part of the United Kingdom has a system of recall, and so should we—that there should be accountability and control through the ballot box, not just to test popularity and measure…
18 Feb 2026 Mossmorran (Just Transition Fund)
Hear, hear.
Seat & career
- Central Scotland (region) Regional MSP · Dissolution 6 May 2021 – 8 Apr 2026
- Central Scotland (region) Regional MSP · Dissolution 5 May 2016 – 4 May 2021
Allowances
2025 (latest published)
Source: Scottish Parliament (published ~1 year in arrears)
Contact & offices
Source: this MSP's official Scottish Parliament profile. Last updated 26 Jul 2026.