General election 2024: Who are the former MPs, including Douglas Alexander, hoping to make a comeback to Westminster?

There are a number of former MPs who want back in.

We may not have a date yet, but that has not stopped parties starting their campaigning in earnest as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has confirmed it will be before the end of the year.

We take a look at some of the former MPs who are hoping for a comeback in the 2024 general election.

Stephen Gethins

Professor Stephen Gethins served as the SNP MP for North East Fife from 2015 to 2019, and was the party’s spokesperson on international affairs and Europe.

However he lost his seat to Lib Dem Wendy Chamberlain in 2019 by just 1,300 votes.

He wants back in - but is avoiding another showdown with Ms Chamberlain by standing in the new constituency of Arbroath and Broughty Ferry.

Perhaps a safer choice, as the Lib Dems have long-standing support in North East Fife, whereas Arbroath and Broughty Ferry is in the SNP heartlands (the area is currently covered by the Dundee East constituency, held by Stewart Hosie MP, and parts of it were one of the only areas to vote Yes in the 2014 independence referendum).

He beat Mr Hosie’s wife Serena Cowdy, who is an Angus councillor, to become the SNP candidate for the seat.

Professor Gethins teaches international relations at St Andrews and has published a book called “Nation to Nation: Scotland’s Place in the World”, which looks at Scotland’s own international relations.

Douglas Alexander

Probably one of the most well-known names on this list - Douglas Alexander served as Scottish secretary during Labour’s heyday under Tony Blair.

He was first elected in the 1997 Paisley South by-election, later becoming the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South, winning four elections in total over his parliamentary career.

Mr Alexander held some of the biggest jobs in government - Scottish secretary, transport secretary, international development secretary, Europe minister, chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and various ministerial roles in the Cabinet Office.

But he lost his seat in 2015 after the SNP’s current deputy Westminster leader Mhairi Black caused a huge upset by winning the Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat by 5,600 when she was just 20 years old.

He is now hoping he can get back to serving in a Labour government by standing in Lothian East.

Previously speaking to The Scotsman, he said his time away from politics means he will be a better politician if elected this year.

He said: “Fundamentally, I love Scotland and I care about public service, and I think we can and we must do better than we’re doing just now.

“I think most people feel overwhelmingly that we’re being let down at the moment.”

He added: “The overriding sentiment is sadness about the SNP government and anger about the Tory government.

“In Scots terms, people just feel really scunnered and they sense that they want a change.”

Pamela Nash

Pamela Nash served as the Labour MP for Airdrie and Shotts from 2010 until 2015 and sat on the Scottish Affairs Committee and the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.

However she is perhaps better known for heading up the campaign group Scotland In Union which was formed in 2015 and makes the case for Scotland to remain a part of the UK.

She is standing against current SNP MP Marion Fellows in the Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke seat.

Ms Nash said: “My time as an MP and in politics since has been dominated by constitutional wrangling, with the SNP forcing everything to be seen through their prism of independence, which has achieved nothing but holding us back.

"It would be a great honour to be re-elected in a time were my colleagues and I can concentrate on the issues that really matter to people and will make the biggest possible difference to them.”

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Luke Graham

Luke Graham was the Conservative MP for Ochil and South Perthshire from 2017 until 2019.

During his time he served in the Finance Committee and Public Accounts Committee, and even managed to get former prime minister Theresa May to join him personally on the campaign trail in 2019.

But the former prime minister’s presence wasn’t enough and he lost out to SNP MP John Nicolson.

He is now standing in the new constituency of Perth and Kinross-shire, but may face a tough time as he is against Pete Wishart, who is the longest-standing SNP MP and has successfully won six elections in the region.

Mr Graham said: “Since 2019 I have continued to campaign and support local projects so re-running felt natural – also having been in for just over two years I was just getting my feet under the table!

"I am keen to get back to Westminster so I can apply my learnings from my time as an MP, as well as new insights from being back in non-political work.

“It’s always a difficult choice, especially when your career is advancing and you want to spend quality time with family and friends, but I still believe that politics can be a force for good and you can do a lot as an MP to fix local issues, secure investment, create new jobs and have a positive impact.”