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Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs)

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Mercedes Villalba

Scottish Labour

MSP for North East Scotland (Region) 2021 - present day

About Mercedes Villalba

Contact details

Contact online

Contact at the Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP

Phone: 0131 348 6390
Text relay calls welcome.

Committees

Mercedes is not a member of any committees

Cross-party groups

Mercedes is a member of 7 cross-party groups

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Cuba

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Migration

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Nature and Climate

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Nuclear Disarmament

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Palestine

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Rural Policy

Member

Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Tibet

Member

Parliamentary and Government Roles

Mercedes does not have any parliamentary or government roles

Party Roles

Mercedes has 2 party roles

Deputy Party Spokesperson on Biodiversity

Scottish Labour

Deputy Party Spokesperson on Environment

Scottish Labour

Previous roles

Mercedes has had 5 previous roles

Previous roles in cross-party groups are not included in this list.

25 April 2023 - 25 September 2024

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Substitute Member

25 April 2023 - 16 November 2023

Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee

Member

01 February 2023 - 25 April 2023

Rural Affairs and Islands Committee

Member

22 September 2021 - 25 April 2023

Net Zero Energy and Transport Committee

Substitute Member

17 June 2021 - 01 February 2023

Rural Affairs Islands and Natural Environment Committee

Member

Register of interests

Mercedes's register of interests

MSPs must provide details of their financial interests in the Register of Interests. They make an initial statement on becoming or being returned as an MSP. This is then updated with any changes they provide.

Recent Activity

What was said

What Mercedes Villalba has said in Parliament

These are the official transcripts of what was said by this MSP in the chamber and at committee meetings. You'll find the topic discussed and how many times this MSP has contributed to the discussion.

Chamber meeting date: 8 January 2026

Wick John O’Groats Airport (US Military Operations)

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab): "The First Minister has said that he cannot see how international law has been respected by the United States in its military intervention in Venezuela, and has said that the “international community must now ensure that de-escalation, diplomacy and democracy” follow. Although defence is a matter that is reserved to the United Kingdom Government,…

Chamber meeting date: 18 December 2025

Renewable Energy Infrastructure (Local Authorities)

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab): "As the First Minister just said, Scotland is an energy-rich nation, so surely revenues from our natural resources should benefit us all, yet the ScotWind auction round massively undervalued Scotland’s offshore energy resources by setting a bid ceiling. Similar auctions held at the same time raised 20 to 40 times the amount per megawatt capacity…

Chamber meeting date: 17 December 2025

Future Farming Investment Scheme (North East Scotland)

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab): "Farmers in the north-east have expressed concern that the Scottish Government is dragging its feet in reforming and rebasing agricultural support, such as that provided through the future farming investment scheme and the less favoured area support scheme. That means that young farmers are being cheated out of a fair deal and that small-scale,…

Chamber meeting date: 17 December 2025

Recognising Small Business Saturday 2025

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab): "Does the member also recognise that one part of the culture that people come from is the public services that we all rely on, including roads, street lighting, street cleaning, schools and healthcare, all of which rely on taxation, and that we need both?"

Chamber meeting date: 16 December 2025

Aphasia Awareness

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab): "I am grateful to my constituents who volunteer at Speakability Tayside, who contacted me ahead of tonight’s debate…

Votes

How Mercedes Villalba has voted in Parliament

Find out how Mercedes Villalba has voted recently.

Motion ref. S6M-20285

Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill

Submitted by: Ivan McKee, Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party. Date lodged: Monday, January 5, 2026

Supported by: Shona Robison
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Thursday, January 8, 2026

Result 65 for, 54 against, 0 abstained, 10 did not vote

MSP voted against

Agreed

Motion ref. S6M-20295

Stopping the Scottish Government’s Business Tax Increases

Submitted by: Murdo Fraser, Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. Date lodged: Monday, January 5, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Result 64 for, 47 against, 6 abstained, 12 did not vote

MSP voted against

Agreed

Motion ref. S6M-20294

Lowering Bills for Scotland’s Workers

Submitted by: Craig Hoy, South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. Date lodged: Monday, January 5, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Result 81 for, 29 against, 6 abstained, 13 did not vote

MSP voted for

Agreed

Motion ref. S6M-20295.1

Stopping the Scottish Government’s Business Tax Increases

Submitted by: Ivan McKee, Glasgow Provan, Scottish National Party. Date lodged: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Supported by: Richard Lochhead, Shona Robison
Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Result 64 for, 47 against, 6 abstained, 12 did not vote

MSP voted against

Agreed

Motion ref. S6M-20295.2

Stopping the Scottish Government’s Business Tax Increases

Submitted by: Daniel Johnson, Edinburgh Southern, Scottish Labour. Date lodged: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Current status: Taken in the Chamber on Wednesday, January 7, 2026

Result 27 for, 58 against, 32 abstained, 12 did not vote

MSP voted for

Disagreed

Motions

Questions

Questions Mercedes Villalba has asked

These are the questions that this MSP has asked in Parliament. It also includes any answer to those questions.

Question reference: S6W-42531

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 11 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 6 January 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed the safety of oil and gas workers in the central and northern North Sea with the UK Government."

Question reference: S6W-42530

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 15 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 5 January 2026

"To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update from the (a) Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service and (b) Health and Safety Executive in Aberdeen regarding the fatality on the Valaris 121 jack-up rig on 14 November 2025."

Question reference: S6W-42532

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 11 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 31 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government, regarding staff pay for offshore regulators, when it last discussed the funding of the Health and Safety Executive with the UK Government."

Question reference: S6W-42284

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 2 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to align the ecosystem metrics used in the Ecosystem Restoration Code with other policy frameworks and mechanisms, including through nature recovery targets and public funding mechanisms."

Question reference: S6W-42286

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 2 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government what support it offers or plans to provide to landowners of fewer than 200 hectares, including those who are community groups and private individuals, who wish to manage land for the restoration of natural processes."

Question reference: S6W-42285

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 2 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the contribution of natural processes, such as natural regeneration, natural river dynamics and trophic interactions, toward meeting statutory nature recovery targets."

Question reference: S6W-42283

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 2 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Gillian Martin on 16 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the recently published report by the British Ecological Society, Aligning Environmental Agendas for Nature Recovery."

Question reference: S6W-42393

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 4 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of payments made under the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) in 2024 was based on historic data."

Question reference: S6W-42392

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 4 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 10 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government, regarding reported comments by the Director of Agriculture and Rural Economy, what its response is to the comment that the Less Favoured Area Support Scheme (LFASS) could not be rebased due to staff number reductions."

Question reference: S6W-42391

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland, Scottish Labour

Date lodged: 4 December 2025

Current Status: Answered by Jim Fairlie on 9 December 2025

"To ask the Scottish Government whether future support for Less Favoured Areas through Tier 2 of the new Agriculture Reform Framework will be based on contemporaneous or historic data."

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