Holyrood Election 2026: The count begins…

Shiirley-Anne Somerville wins in Dunfermline for the SNP with 14,206 votes.

The Scottish Conservatives Finlay Carson secures 11,502.

Emma Harper for the SNP comes second with 9,903 votes.

The SNP’s Kirsten Oswald wins in Eastwood taking 12,722 votes.

This will be a blow for former Scottish Tory leader Jackson Carlaw and the party as he comes second with 11,990.

The SNP’s David Barratt wins in Cowdenbeath with 11,994 votes.

John Swinney is confident that – as polls have suggested – the SNP will emerge as the largest party in the Scottish Parliament.

However, it remains to be seen if the party will have a majority.

Speaking at the election count in Perth after he won the seat there, he said: ‘We are at the very early stages of the election count across the country.

‘But it is becoming clear that the Scottish National Party is going to emerge as the largest party in this election campaign. That is, for me, something incredibly precious.’

As Stephen Flynn narrowly held the Aberdeen Deeside and North Kincardine seat for the SNP with a tiny majority of just over 1,000 over Tory Liam Kerr is fizzing.

The Scottish Tories say it was Reform UK’s 6,000 votes which denied them a ‘massive scalp’.

Scottish Labour’s Donald MacKinnon wins in the Western Isles, taking the seat from the SNP with 4,665 votes.

The SNP win in Paisley as candidate George Adam secures 13,164 votes.

Scottish Labour’s Neil Bibby comes second.

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.’