Who will get your vote? Election 2026
Monday 20 April 2026
 8.8°C   E Moderate Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Election / First minister John Swinney returns for third visit of election campaign

John Swinney (centre) on a visit to Shetland to support Hannah Mary Goodlad. Photo: Malcolm Younger

FIRST minister John Swinney has arrived in Shetland for the third time in nine months as the Scottish election campaign hots up.

Swinney’s arrival on Monday follows swiftly on the heels of visits from the leaders of Reform UK and Scottish Greens last week.

He helped members of the SNP party pick litter  in Scalloway on Monday morning as part of the annual Da Voar Redd Up operation in the isles.

And Swinney will walk through Commercial Street in Lerwick at around 11.15am.

The first minister visited Shetland in August 2025 and February 2026 in support of the party’s election candidate for Shetland, Hannah Mary Goodlad, who also took part in the Voar Redd Up cleaning this morning.

Shetland News will have more coverage of Swinney’s visit, including an interview with the first minister, later today.

The full list of confirmed Shetland candidates for the election on 7 May, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Alex Armitage (Greens), Douglas Barnett (Conservatives), Vic Currie (Reform UK), John Erskine (Labour), Hannah Mary Goodlad (SNP), Emma Macdonald (Liberal Democrats), Brian Nugent (Alliance to Liberate Scotland), Peter Tait (independent).

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Interested in Notifications?

You can install the Shetland News app on your device, simply tap and then 'Add to Home Screen'.

Loading the app will allow you to accept notifications.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.