The SNP has appointed the former Aberdeen MP Callum McCaig as its new chief executive.
McCaig, who served as MP for Aberdeen South between 2015 and 2017, was subsequently a special advisor to first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.
The news came as the party announced Carol Beattie has stepped down from the role for “personal health reasons”, six months after being appointed.
McCaig is the fourth person to take on the role since Peter Murrell – the husband of former leader Nicola Sturgeon – stood down in March 2023.
The new chief executive said the party was “fighting-fit” ahead of the Holyrood elections next year.
The decision was made at a meeting of the party’s national executive committee on Sunday.
Beattie was appointed as chief executive of the party in March having served in the position on an interim basis since October 2024.
The former Stirling Council leader was due to manage the party into the 2026 election and said she would “continue to play her part” leading up to the vote.
“I’d like to thank my colleagues in SNP HQ who have supported this work and thank them for their tireless efforts every day in the campaign to create a brighter future for Scotland with independence,” she said.
“While I am stepping down with immediate effect due to personal health reasons, I will continue to play my part in the campaign to deliver an SNP victory in 2026 and Scotland’s journey to independence.”
McCaig became one of the UK’s youngest council leaders when he took over the running of Aberdeen Council aged 26 in 2011.
He was elected MP for Aberdeen South – the seat now represented by Stephen Flynn – in 2015, but lost it to the Conservatives’ Ross Thomson two years later.
McCaig was then appointed as a special advisor to Sturgeon, remaining in post when she resigned and was replaced by Yousaf.
He stood down from that role when John Swinney became leader last year.
He said he was “looking forward” to the Holyrood vote next year.
“It is a great privilege to be appointed as chief executive and I pay tribute to the work of my predecessor, Carol Beattie,” he said.
“The party is fighting-fit and election-ready. I look forward to working with John Swinney to secure that victory in 2026, and onward to independence.”
‘A wealth of experience’
McCaig is the fourth person to take on the chief executive role since Peter Murrell’s resignation for misleading the media about party membership numbers in March 2023.
The former cabinet secretary Michael Russell – who was the party’s chief executive for much of the 1990s – stepped into the role on a voluntary basis before the former Daily Record editor Murray Foote was appointed the following October.
He lasted 14 months before he too stepped down, stating he “could not make the necessary personal commitment” to reorganising the party after that year’s disappointing general election performance.
The role was then taken on by Carol Beattie.
The SNP’s business convener, Angela Constance, said: “Callum brings a wealth of experience from the public and private sector, and will steer the organisation with determination and focus as we head into the 2026 election campaign.
“I’d like to pay tribute to Carol Beattie, who has been a lynchpin in delivering a streamlined headquarters operation, ensuring fiscal stability and with an acute focus on election-winning strategy.
“I know this has not been an easy decision for her to make but I admire her courage to put her own health first. I thank Carol wholeheartedly for her service to the SNP and to the wider cause of independence, both of which I know she will continue to campaign for.”
A number of SNP insiders I’ve spoken to seem a bit blindsided by this development.
I understand Callum McCaig’s appointment is permanent and was decided at a scheduled meeting of the party’s ruling body, the NEC.
One party figure I phoned was completely unaware the party had changed chief executive before I told them.
Some are questioning why such a significant appointment has been made without a normal recruitment process – involving a job advertisement, applications and interviews.
It may well be that we have an election looming.
If the SNP’s losing a chief executive, then the party will want to move very fast to have a new one in place to ensure the campaigning machinery continues to rumble along with as little disruption as possible.
But this is a very significant job in Scottish politics. And the speed with which it’s changed hands seems to have taken some in the party by surprise.
