SNP wins election with Labour and Reform tied in second place

The SNP has decisively won the Scottish Parliament election, securing another five years in office.

The party won 58 seats in total – down from the 64 it won in 2021 and seven seats from a majority, but well ahead of rivals.

Labour and Reform are in joint second place, winning 17 MSPs apiece.

It was a poor set of results for Anas Sarwar, who had been aiming to gain enough MSPs to form the next Scottish Government.

And it’s a significant breakthrough from Malcolm Offord’s party, though not as high as he had hoped after it failed to win any constituencies.

Meanwhile it was a record result for the Scottish Greens, who won their first-ever constituency seats in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Their final tally was 15, putting them in fourth place.

The Conservatives had a dismal day, dropping to just 12 MSPs (a record low) and from second biggest party to second smallest.

The Lib Dems managed to increase its numbers to 10, up by six from 2021.

SNP leader John Swinney described the results as an “emphatic” win for his party. He said: “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.”

He had been aiming to win an outright majority, arguing throughout the campaign this was the only way to pursue a second referendum on Scottish independence.

While denied the seats to make that argument, this parliament has the biggest pro-independence majority – 73 MSPs belong to parties who favour independence.

Scottish Greens co-leader Gillian Mackay said the “seismic result” for her party would help to “change Scotland”.

She said: “People have seen our record, from free bus travel for everyone under 22 to scrapping peak rail fares to ending school meal debt. We did all that with seven MSPs. Now we have doubled that number we can do even more.

“With a failed Labour government on its last legs in Westminster, and with the cost-of-living crisis biting, Green policies are more vital than ever. Throughout this election we urged Scotland to demand better, and that is exactly what we will deliver.”

In an unusual move, Anas Sarwar effectively conceded defeat after fewer than 10 seats were declared.

The party did manage to take Na h-Eileanan an Iar from the SNP, but that was the only bright spot after it failed to take any of its target seats in the central belt.

Sarwar was re-elected on the Glasgow regional list, while his deputy Jackie Baillie held onto her Dumbarton constituency.

But before those results were even announced, he told journalists at the count in Glasgow: “Throughout this election campaign, I have tried to make this election about Scotland. I'm not going to change that today. Is there a national wave though, that we've tried to overcome but failed to do so? Yes, but right now, my focus is on what this election means.”

It was a poor set of results for Labour across the UK, with the party ejected from power in Wales and down thousands of council seats across England. Former Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan failed to get re-elected and resigned as leader.

Sarwar has so far not resigned, adding: “My party is hurting today and it's my job to hold it together.”

Malcolm Offord admitted his party had not done as well as he had hoped, but it had built a “very solid based”. Before the election is only had one MSP – a defection from the Conservatives, Graham Simpson.

On how his new band of MSPs would approach Holyrood, Offord said: “We will be very focused on trying to get Holyrood focused on the day job, on devolved matters and really highlighting the issues that matter to people on the doorsteps: the schools, the roads the day-to-day matters that Holyrood needs to be focused on.”

The Scottish Conservatives were quick to blame Reform for their poor result and for letting the SNP win. Acknowledging the election was “always going to be tough”, Russell Findlay added: “We warned repeatedly during the campaign that Reform were a gift to the SNP – and so it’s proved. 

“Despite not winning a single constituency seat, Reform have let the SNP sneak home in several constituencies they would otherwise have lost. I’m sure that’s not the outcome most Reform voters would have wanted but Lord Offord has been John Swinney’s little helper.”

The Liberal Democrats, while remaining the smallest party at Holyrood, had a positive set of results – taking three constituencies from the SNP and bolstering the number with some list seats. It did, however, lose Shetland to the Nationalists.

Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “I am really excited about the new parliamentary group that I will be welcoming to parliament next week.”

He also said he would be willing to work with the SNP government on an issue-by-issue basis.

President Donald Trump has offered his congratulations to Swinney for the victory. Posting on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump said: “Congratulations to John Swinney on winning his re-election for First Minister of Scotland. He is a good man, who worked very hard, along with the King and the Queen of the United Kingdom, with respect to tariff relief for Great Scottish Whiskey [sic] – and deserves this big electoral victory.”