Holyrood Election 2026: The count begins…

SNP win in Banffshire & Buchan Coast with candidate Kafren Adam securing 10,374 votes.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has admitted defeat at the Holyrood election – saying the vote is a ‘disappointing result for us’.

He adds: ‘We argued the case for change but ultimately it is an argument we lost.’

Arriving at the Glasgow count

Mr Sarwar said: ‘This is clearly a disappointing result for us as a Scottish Labour Party. We argued the case for change, made the argument for change, but ultimately it is an argument we lost.’

Asked if the Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was to blame, Mr Sarwar said: ‘Throughout this campaign I have tried to make this about Scotland, I’m not going to change that today. Is there a national wave though that we tried to overcome but failed to do so? Yes.’

The SNP has held Perth South with Jim Fairlie re-elected as an MSP with 14,707 votes.

The Lib Dems come second with 4,329 votes.

The SNP’s Kate Campbell holds Edinburgh Eastern, Musselburgh and Tranent with 14,083 votes.

The SNP win Midlothian North as returning MSP Colin Beattie secures 11,250 votes.

The SNP’s former MP and leader at Westminster Stephen Flynn wins in Aberdeen Deeside with 11,788 votes.

The Scottish Conservatives Liam Kerr comes second with 10,544

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton is predicting that his party is poised to take a ‘big step forward’ in terms of seats at Holyrood.

Speaking at the Edinburgh count centre at the Royal Highland Centre – accompanied by wife Gill and daughter Darcy – he said a win for the party in Edinburgh Northern would be ‘astonishing’ given his party trailed the SNP by around 20,000 votes in 2021 in the old Edinburgh Northern and Leith constituency area.

However, he also acknowledged there was disappointment for the party in Shetland, where itlost its long-held seat to the SNP.

First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney gets 16,414 votes, holding his seat.

Scottish Conservative Murdo Fraser comes second securing 10,171 votes.

After being elected Aberdeen Central’s youngest MSP at the age of 30, Jack Middleton, has immediately taken a swipe at the UK Government.

He claims the ‘Westminster system…chose to bail out the bankers’ but ‘hasn’t lifted a finger for local families in the north-east of Scotland during a cost of living crisis’.

Scottish Greens Glasgow Southside candidate Holly Bruce says she is ‘really positive’ about taking three MSPs in Glasgow.

The party is optimistic she can take the seat previously held by former first minister Nicola Sturgeon.

She says: ‘On the regional ballot, we’re really hopeful we will get three MSPs for Glasgow.’

She addds: ‘I feel like we, the Greens, do push the SNP to do better in their politics.’

Scottish Greens candidate Lorna Slater is bouyant at the Edinburgh count today where it is expected she will win. When asked she says she is ‘feeling good’ about her chances