SNP win again but fall short of majority in Scottish election
Big day for the Greens and Lib Dems as Labour and the Tories lose ground and Reform fail to win a seat but poll well
Last updated 1 hour ago
The SNP will govern Scotland again for the next five years after comfortably winning the Hollyrood election.
However, they will not have a majority in the Scottish Parliament as they have fallen short of the 65 seats needed.
They finished with 58 - with Labour and Reform tied on 17 - the Greens having 15, the Conservatives on 12 and the Lib Dems with 10.
But leader John Swinney reckons they have a strong mandate. He said: “It is now clear that the SNP has won and we have won emphatically. Living in a democracy is something that all of us should cherish and I would like thank everyone who voted in this election. Once again the people of Scotland have put their trust in us.
“However you voted today, I promise that I will be a First Minister for all of Scotland.”
“All of us care about our country’s future. I give you my commitment that I will work every day to improve your life and make Scotland the nation we know it can be.”
It was a big day for the Scottish Greens as they won their first ever constituency seats with Lorna Slater ousting Angus Robertson in Edinburgh and Holly Bruce taking Glasgow Southside, previously occupied by Nicola Sturgeon.
Lorna Slater said: said: “This is a big step for the Scottish Green Party, credit to the hard work of everybody here.
“And to decades of work by our MSPs and councillors. Today is a fantastic day.”
And it was also very successful for the Liberal Democrats - despite losing stronghold Shetland - who won six seats taking two from the SNP in Edinburgh Northern and in Strathkelvin and Bearsden - and also in Caithness and Sutherland.
Leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, who retained his seat in Edinburgh, said: “We’re getting double the share of the vote we got last time, almost everywhere.
“I am really excited about the new parliamentary group that I will be welcoming to Parliament next week.”
Conversely it was a disastrous day for Scottish Labour. Indeed leader Anas Sarwar conceded defeat after just seven results had come in.
It was not that long ago that there was an expectation he could become the new First Minister but the party's results have been terrible.
He said: "My party is hurting – we’re disappointed. We advocate for change, we didn’t win that argument, but it’s my job to hold us together and that’s a job I intend to do.”
Equally, the Scottish Conservatives flopped. They won three seats - but their vote share was lower than Reform UK who failed to win any seats.
Reform UK leader Malcolm Offord came third in Inverclyde and said he was disappointed his party had not broken through but thinks they will do well on the regional list.
It has been a big day for the Lib Dems in mainland Highland, as they've taken two seats from the SNP.
David Green won Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, the UK's largest constituency by geographic size.
In Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, Andrew Baxter beat SNP candidate Eilidh Munro, a seat previously held by former Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes before she stepped down at the end of the last parliamentary term.
After 27 years, Fergus Ewing won't be returning to Holyrood this parliamentary term as he came third in the Inverness and Nairn constituency.
SNP's Emma Roddick won the seat followed by Neil Alexander of the Liberal Democrats.
Breakdown of the new list MSPs:
Mid Scotland and Fife Region:
Helen McDade - Reform UK
Julie Macdougall - Reform UK
Murdo Fraser - Scottish Conservatives
Stephen Kerr - Scottish Conservatives
Mark Ruskell - Scottish Greens
Claire Baker - Scottish Labour
Joe Long - Scottish Labour
Edinburgh and Lothians East:
Kate Nevens - Scottish Greens
Q Manivannan - Scottish Greens
Kayleigh Ferguson Kinross-O'Neil - Scottish Greens
Irshad Ahmed - Scottish Labour
Katherine Sangster - Scottish Labour
Miles Briggs - Scottish Conservatives
Angela Ross - Reform UK
North East:
Duncan Massey - Reform UK
Mark Simpson - Reform UK
Liam Kerr - Scottish Conservatives
Douglas Lumsden - Scottish Conservatives
Maggie Chapman - Scottish Greens
Michael Marra - Scottish Labour
Yi-Pei Chou Turvey - Scottish Lib Dems
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