Inverness councillor Duncan Macpherson announces independent bid to become MSP in 2026’s Scottish Government elections.
A well-known member of Highland Council has thrown his hat into the ring in a bid to become an MSP.
Duncan Macpherson, who is an independent councillor in the Inverness South ward, intends to run as an independent candidate in the Inverness & Nairn constituency when the next Scottish Government elections take place in May next year.
Confirming his intent to file a nomination when they officially open in early 2026, he said: “I have been an Independent Highland councillor for eight years and prior to that I served as a community councillor for four years.
“I am a Highlander born and bred, I was born in the old Raigmore Hospital and grew up in Fort William where my family roots in Lochaber date back several centuries.
“I have lived in Inverness for almost 40 years.
“I now stand for election as a hard-working and staunch ambassador for our area, having been honoured and privileged to represent and serve the people of the Inverness South Ward with its unique blend of urban and rural communities, as their local councillor on Highland Council since I was first elected in May 2017.
“It’s the largest population ward in the Highland Council area with 12,664 voters on the electoral roll.
“To be able to represent and serve the good people of Inverness South in this diverse council ward, continues to be the greatest honour of my life and it’s something that I feel privileged and blessed to be able to do.
“Throughout my two terms of office I have worked hard to make improvements to the facilities in the Inverness South area and all around the Highland Capital for its constituents, and to improve the whole Highlands for the benefit of all its citizens now and for future generations to come.
“I’ve scrutinised the practices, processes and performance of the Highland Council, asked searching questions and even had to revert to Freedom of Information Requests to obtain the correct information on occasions.
I have always acted without fear or favour and made recommendations for cost-saving measures and always insisted on the Council getting the best value for taxpayers money from the public purse.
“I’ve even been invited to join FOUR political parties since I became a councillor, however I’ve politely declined, preferring not to have to be an apologist for a political party’s failed policies.
“Standing again as an Independent for my second term, I then managed to treble my total number of votes received in 2022.
“My family background: My late father George Macpherson would be 106 if he was alive today. He served the nation during WWII and was with the Allied Forces when they liberated the Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany in 1945.
“He was a town councillor in Fort William for 17 years, 14 of these years as burgh treasurer and nine of these years as an Inverness-shire County Councillor, an Honorary Sheriff and a Justice of the Peace.
“During my father’s early years as a town councillor, he had to stand down each year and seek re-election, something that made all town councillors much more accountable to their communities.
“He always put service over self and ahead of self-interest, and it’s something that I have always aspired to do and strived to follow his good example.
“My mother Kathleen Macpherson née Connochie, was the first female to complete the Ben Nevis Race on Britain’s highest mountain.
“It’s something that saw her name entered into the Guinness Bookshop of World Records for over 30 years. She continues to live in the family home in Fort William.
“I was named after the family friend ‘Uncle’ Duncan MacIntyre, who trained my mother for the Ben Nevis Race, and I often tell people, that when my parents named me, they chose the name Dun-Can and not Dun-Can’t, and that’s why I’ve always had a positive Can-Do attitude to getting things done. It’s also something that my constituents have recognised and have very much appreciated.
“I am a family man, my wife Mary is a nurse and she’s a native Gaelic speaker from the Outer Hebrides, we have a son Andrew and daughter Claire and we are blessed to now have four delightful grandchildren in our expanding family.
“I am well aware of the hard work and dedication that is required in order to be an effective elected representative of our Highland constituents.
“I would like to go on record to thank the existing Highland MSPs and pay tribute to their many years of dedicated service and the contributions they have made while campaigning to improve the environment for those in our region of Scotland.
“With three of our Highland MSP’s announcing their decision not to seek the nomination of their political parties to stand again beyond 2026, I now feel this is the right time for me to step up and make myself available to represent the constituents of the Highlands to the very best of my abilities at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh from May 2026.”
