EXCLUSIVE: Monica Lennon, who is set for a return to Holyrood nearly three months after losing at the May election, said women’s health and alcohol abuse groups would benefit.
13:27, 24 Jul 2026Updated 16:00, 24 Jul 2026
Monica Lennon
A Scottish Labour leadership contender will donate a Holyrood exit payment to charity when she returns as an MSP.
Monica Lennon, who had a recent cancer scare, said women’s health and alcohol abuse charities will benefit from the near £50,000 she received.
Lennon was one of main Labour casualties after the party’s Holyrood election drubbing.
She lost out in the Rutherglen and Cambuslang seat and was too low on the Glasgow List to get elected.
But Anas Sarwar’s shock resignation as Scottish Labour leader – exclusively revealed by the Record – is set to spark a rapid comeback.
His resignation as a Glasgow MSP means Lennon could be an MSP again within days as she is next on the regional list.
Lennon’s ten-year service as an MSP resulted in her receiving a post-tax resettlement grant of around £50,000 and she has not had a job since May.
The 45 year old said: “I fought the election but lost and received a resettlement payment from the Scottish Parliament. I hoped to be back one day as an MSP but never expected to return after a few months.”
“I have been unemployed since May and have had to use some of my exit payment to pay bills, but it would not sit easy with me to hold on to the rest.”
The mum-of-one and stepmum-of-two hit spoke out earlier this year on the agony of waiting for cancer tests.
She had surgery but has since been given the all-clear.
Lennon said: “Undergoing tests for cancer and having a procedure was one of the most terrifying moments of my life. Women go through this anguish every day and I will be making donations to women’s health charities.”
She has also opened up in the past about the impact her late father Gerry’s drinking had on her growing up.
Her “brilliant” dad lost his life to alcohol abuse in 2015 – a tragedy she has spoken about in Parliament.
She said: “Tackling drug and alcohol harm is personal to me and is a cause I championed in my decade as an MSP. Charities in this field will also benefit.”
Lennon added: “The whole system of exit payments for MSPs and members of the Government is outdated and not fit for purpose. I will campaign for change when I am back at Holyrood.”
She said she cannot be paid an MSP salary again until she takes the oath in September, adding that she will start to distribute the donations at this point.
It comes after former Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said she will not repay a £16,876 ministerial severance payment after making her return to the cabinet.
The Labour MP resigned as deputy prime minister and housing secretary in 2025 after failing to pay enough tax on her £800,000 flat in Hove, which resulted in the exit payout.
Lennon is one of a number of party figures tipped as a potential contender to replace Sarwar.
MSP Michael Marra is almost certain to stand, while colleagues Paul Sweeney and Daniel Johnson have also been mentioned in reports.
