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Indian immigrant becomes first trans lawmaker in Scotland
Manivannan centered their campaign on issues affecting working-class and marginalized communities, including immigrant rights, disability inclusion, and the rising cost of living.
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Malvika Choudhary - Sat, 09, May 2026
- 17:57 EDT
- 55
Q Manivannan / X/ @scottishgreens
Q Manivannan, an immigrant from India and member of the Scottish Green Party, has become the first queer Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) in Scottish history after winning an election from the Edinburgh and Lothians East regional list.
Manivannan was elected as one of four Scottish Green MSPs from the Edinburgh and Lothians East region, helping take the party’s total representation in the Scottish Parliament to seven seats.
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Addressing Green Party supporters after the result, Manivannan described themself as “a trans, Tamil immigrant” and spoke about representation and inclusion in politics.
“I am, to some in this country, everything that the hateful despise, and I'm standing here as your MSP now with care,” Manivannan said from the podium.
@q_ueering elected to represent Edinburgh & Lothians East region!
— Scottish Greens (@scottishgreens) May 8, 2026
Q is one of four Scottish Green MSPs elected in Edinburgh & Lothians East today, taking our total across Scotland to seven - so far! pic.twitter.com/H2UePDCrU2
“They say politics is the art of the possible. A politics of care, I'd say, expands what's possible for everyone left behind, pushed out, or never invited in,” they added.
Referring to scholar Saidiya Hartman, Manivannan said, “The holes that bind us are also the bonds that free.”
“Every barrier placed before me with the Greens was the reason also that we pushed further. And this is what diversity looks like in power,” they said.
The election also makes Manivannan, alongside fellow Green MSP Iris Duane, among the first openly transgender people elected to the Scottish Parliament.
Born in Tamil Nadu, India, Manivannan studied liberal arts and humanities at O.P. Jindal Global University in Delhi, graduating in 2018. They later completed an MPhil in international peace studies at Trinity College Dublin before moving to Scotland in 2021 to pursue a doctorate in international relations at the University of St Andrews.
Their doctoral research focused on caregiving and peacebuilding in social movements.
During the campaign, Manivannan positioned themself as a voice for working-class and marginalized communities, focusing on issues including the cost-of-living crisis, climate change, rising intolerance, disability inclusion, and immigrant rights.
“We are an island of friends, not strangers. Our communities are thicker than hate,” Manivannan said in a campaign statement.
Before contesting the parliamentary election, Manivannan ran as the Scottish Greens’ candidate in the 2025 Fountainbridge/Craiglockhart by-election to the City of Edinburgh Council, where they finished third.
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