2021 in Scotland

Events

4 February – 2021 Kilmarnock incidents lead to three deaths.
6 May – Elections to the devolved Scottish parliament take place. Voter turnout is the highest in a Scottish Parliament election to date, at 63.0%. The Scottish Nationalist Party improves its performance, finishing with 64 seats, just short of an overall majority. The Conservatives finish with 31 seats, Labour 22, Scottish Greens 8 and Liberal Democrats 4.^[1]
13 May
- 2021 Airdrie and Shotts by-election
- Kenmure Street protests: protests occur after two Indian men living on Kenmure Street in Glasgow are taken from their home and detained by the Home Office in a van on the street for allegedly overstaying their visas. The men are released after 8 hours.^[2]
28 May – Murder of Esther Brown in her Glasgow flat.
1–12 November – The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26), a major United Nations climate summit, is held in Glasgow.^[3]
25-27 November - Storm Arwen causes widespread damage and power outages across Scotland.

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Deaths

4 January – Kay Ullrich, politician, MSP 1999–2003 (born 1943)
12 January – Willie Miller, urban planner (born 1950)
14 January – Vincent Logan, Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Dunkeld 1981–2012 (born 1941; COVID-19).^[4]
14 February – Sir William Macpherson, High Court judge and clan chief (born 1926)
11 May – Neil Connery, retired actor and younger brother of actor Sean Connery (born 1938)^[5]
21 May – Ken MacKinnon, Scottish Gaelic sociolinguist (born 1933)
17 June – Andrew Welsh, Scottish politician (born 1944)
12 August – Una Stubbs, English actress (born 1937 in England)^[6]
23 August – Elizabeth Blackadder, painter and printmaker (born 1931)^[7]
23 August – Colin Bell, journalist, broadcaster and author (born 1938).^[8]
15 October – Robert Black, auditor (born 1946)^[9]
26 October – Walter Smith, Scottish association football player, manager and director (born 1948)^[10]
5 December – Gary Callander, Scottish international rugby union player (born 1959)^[11]

Incumbents