Graham Leadbitter is the Scottish National Party (SNP) MP for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, having first been elected to parliament at the 2024 general election.

In the 2024 general election, Leadbitter won 14,961 votes, representing 32.1% of the vote. The Conservative candidate, Kathleen Robertson, received 13,960 votes (30.0%), while the Labour candidate, James Hynam, secured 8,259 votes (17.7%). Leadbitter was duly elected with a majority of 1,001 votes.

The Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency was newly created for the 2024 election, formed from parts of the previous Moray constituency and the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency.

Leadbitter was one of two new SNP MPs elected at the 2024 general election, alongside Seamus Logan.

Political Career

Leadbitter serves as the SNP Westminster spokesperson for energy security and net zero (since June 2025), science, innovation and technology (since July 2024) and transport (since July 2024).

Leadbitter is listed as a member of the all-party parliamentary groups (APPGs) for Scotch whisky, space and the wood panel industry.

Leadbitter delivered his maiden speech on 17 July 2024 during a debate on the king’s speech.

In it, he said: “There may be some room for getting more employment from the local labour market, but fundamentally the biggest impact on the labour market there has been Brexit. Immigration in that part of the world is a really significant issue, in that there is not enough of it. We have difficulty staffing care homes, the NHS and many businesses, which are fighting over the same labour population.”

He added: “The welfare of service personnel and veterans is absolutely vital, and it is something I will raise frequently in the House.”

Before entering parliament, Leadbitter served as an SNP councillor on Moray Council (2007-2024). He was leader of the council from 2018 to 2022.

Political Views

The Scottish National Party (SNP) is a social democratic political party that campaigns for Scottish independence.

Welfare

Winter fuel payment EDM: In September 2024, Leadbitter signed an early day motion (EDM) expressing concern over the government’s proposed changes to the winter fuel payment. The motion called on the government to “postpone the ending of winter fuel payments and establish a comprehensive strategy to tackle fuel poverty, health inequality and low incomes among older people.”

Palestine

Palestinian recognition letter (July 2025): In July 2025, Leadbitter was among the over 254 MPs to sign a cross-party letter calling for the government to immediately recognise the state of Palestine. The letter called on the prime minister and foreign secretary to recognise Palestine at the UN Conference then taking place in New York.

Before Politics

Leadbitter attended Biggar High School and studied computing at the Open University.

He worked as a constituency press officer for SNP MP Angus Robertson and SNP MSP Richard Lochhead from 2001 until 2007.

Leadbitter was a senior caseworker for SNP MP Richard Thomson from 2020 to 2024.

Personal Life

Leadbitter is married.

Trivia

Leadbitter is a fan of Star Wars.

In January 2025, Leadbitter admitted that he used artificial intelligence to help write his speeches.

In an article for the National, he wrote: “The important thing to understand is that I am not simply asking AI to write a speech with no context – firstly I select good information, the bill and explanatory notes; a House of Commons library briefing; statements on the subject; a report from a reputable organisation such as a charity or sectoral group who know the subject well.

“The AI is asked to produce a speech of a certain length presenting the issue with a particular objective in mind. Back comes, pretty invariably, a very good basis to work from.”