Holyrood Election 2026: Results flooding in across the country

‘We always knew this was going to be a tough election,’ Russell Findlay has said on a day that has so far seen his party lose seven seats in the Holyrood election.

Speaking to journalists at a count at the Braehead Arena in Renfrew, the Scottish Conservatives leader said votes for Reform UK had seen his party lose out to the SNP in a number of close-fought seats.

‘What we warned would happen is exactly what has happened,’ he said.

‘In many seats the Scottish Conservative candidates were beaten by the narrowest of margins, and that’s because people voted for Reform in those seats and let the SNP through the middle.’

Mr Findlay also said it was ‘really disappointing’ to see one-time party leader Jackson Carlaw lose his Eastwood seat to the SNP’s Kirsten Oswald.

Russell Findlay is a candidate in the West of Scotland regional list, which is expected to be declared on Friday evening.

Emma Roddick has won Fergus Ewing’s old seat.

TORIES: 2 SEATS

REFORM: 2 SEATS

GREENS: 1 SEAT

LABOUR: 1 SEAT

LIB DEM: 1 SEAT

GREENS: 3 SEATS

LABOUR: 2 SEATS

REFORM: 1 SEAT

TORIES: 1 SEAT

REFORM: 2 SEATS

TORIES: 2 SEATS

LABOUR: 2 SEATS

GREENS: 1 SEAT

John Swinney has said the SNP has ‘won emphatically’ in the Scottish Parliament election.

With 70 out of 73 constituencies declared, Mr Swinney’s party has won 55 seats.

Holyrood’s regional list seats will be declared later on Friday evening. Mr Swinney 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.

As these images (below) show, Fergus Ewing represented the Inverness and Nairn area for the SNP for decades. However, he has conceded his career as an MSP is now over.

Mr Ewing stood as an independent against his former party this time around but it was not to be.

The seat is still to be declared but it looks like it will either go to Emma Roddick of the SNP or Neil Alexander of the Lib Dems.

Mr Ewing says he doesn’t know what he will do yet but rules out ‘sitting doing the crossword and watching daytime TV’ for now.

The SNP loses Caithness and Sutherland as the Lib Dems’ David Green wins.

It means SNP stalwart Maree Todd, who was until recently the Scottish government’s drugs and alcohol minister, loses her seat.

So far, 69 out of 129 seats have declared.

SNP: 55 Lib Dems: 5 Tories: 4 Labour: 3 Greens: 2

We are waiting for the last four constituency seats.

The 56 regional list seats will then be allocated after that.

Jackie Baillie has been an MSP in Dumbarton for 27 years and now she’s got another five to serve after winning there with 12,747 votes.

She won by a majority of 1,786 over the SNP’s Sophie Traynor.

Taking to the podium after her win, Ms Baillie said:

Now whilst it is undoubtedly a positive result in this constituency because we have almost doubled the majority, I am disappointed in the overall result across the country.

We made the argument for change in this election but we’ve lost that argument, but the need for change absolutely remains.

Former Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross addresses the party’s performance so far.

The Tories went into the election as the second largest party but have seen their share of the vote fall in numerous seats.

Mr Ross says it has been ‘a difficult campaign’ for the party, although he backs current leader Russell Findlay, saying he has had an ‘excellent campaign’ but it’s ‘not translating into results’

He welcomes the fact the party held three seats in the south of Scotland.

He says Reform – which is widely viewed as having taken votes from the unionist parties – ‘missed a trick’ when it chose to stand candidates in the 73 constituencies and should have instead focussed on list votes.

He said Reform ‘did well’ in constituencies, but nowhere near well enough.