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SNP appoints permanent chief executive

snp Carol Beattie in a headshot style picture. She is wearing a cream blazer and smiling at the camera. She is standing outside but the background is out of focus.snp
Carol Beattie was chief executive of Stirling Council between 2019 and 2024

The SNP has appointed interim chief executive Carol Beattie to the role permanently.

Ms Beattie, former chief executive of Stirling Council, took on the job temporarily in October following the resignation of ex-Daily Record editor Murray Foote.

Foote had held the post for about a year after his predecessor Peter Murrell quit over a row about party membership numbers.

Ms Beattie will oversee the SNP's campaign for the Holyrood election, scheduled for May next year.

Holyrood election campaign

SNP business convener Angela Constance said the chief executive would help organise the party as a "professional, modern, dynamic election-winning organisation".

She added: "Carol Beattie's appointment will ensure we remain equipped for the 2026 election campaign and the journey to Scotland's independence."

Ms Beattie has already overseen a redundancy drive at the SNP's Edinburgh headquarters, with the party aiming to cut 10 of 26 staff.

The former council chief executive, who held her post at Stirling's local authority between 2019 and 2024, said: "I look forward to continuing my work with the SNP HQ team, ensuring the organisation is fighting fit for the 2026 election and beyond.

"Following recent reform, the party's headquarters functions are in robust shape and I look forward to supporting the party as a formidable national organisation."

PA Media Nicola Sturgeon, with light-coloured hair, and Peter Murrell, a bald man with glasses, standing side by side in overcoats. Sturgeon is wearing a yellow coat and multi-coloured scarf, while Murrell is in a black coat and yellow scarf. He has his hands in his pockets while Sturgeon has her right hand aloft, waving. PA Media
The SNP were an election winning machine under Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell, but suffered severe losses in last year's general election

Following more than a decade of unprecedented electoral success, the SNP is aiming to recover from two years of turmoil since Nicola Sturgeon's resignation as party leader.

Murrell, who for years had run the SNP with his wife Sturgeon, was charged last year with embezzling party funds.

Sturgeon, who announced in January that the pair had decided to end their marriage, was questioned and released without charge as part of the police investigation. She has denied any wrongdoing.

The SNP suffered severe losses in last year's general election to a resurgent Scottish Labour.

However, under John Swinney's leadership, support for the party has stabilised in the polls, with the SNP currently forecast to outperform Anas Sarwar's party at next year's Holyrood election.