Irshad Ahmed

Irshad Ahmed is a Scottish businessman and Scottish Labour politician who has been a Member of Scottish Parliament for Edinburgh and Lothians East since 2026.

Biography Ahmed was born in Faisalabad, Pakistan and moved to Edinburgh in 1993. He had been a member of the Scottish National Party for over 16 years, standing third on the SNP's Lothian regional list in 2016. He joined Labour around the time of the 2024 United Kingdom general election Following his selection, Scottish Labour's Governance and Legal Unit received a formal complaint alleging voter irregularities in the selection contest, including claims that large numbers of new members had been signed up to support him, and that some listed members could not be verified at their registered addresses. He unsuccessfully ran as a constituency candidate for Edinburgh North Western in the 2026 election. He was elected a list MSP.