13:16 – Aberdeen Central and Shetland : SNP Victories
By David Forrest.
Jack Middleton has retained his seat in Aberdeen Central with a huge majority whilst Hannah Goodlad has claimed a scalp in Shetland, dislodging the Lib Dems for the first time since Devolution.
13:14 – Vote Breakdown: Dundee West
Here’s a breakdown of the Dundee City West vote, won by SNP’s Heather Anderson.
13:08 – Tories fear Edinburgh list seat loss
By David Forrest.
The Conservatives fear that they could fall from 3 MSPs to one on Edinburgh’s regional list.
Miles Briggs is expected to win a seat, but with SNP expected to take the Edinburgh South Western (formerly Pentlands) seat, incumbent Tory MSP Sue Webber looks to be at risk. She’s facing a battle with the Greens over the last list seat.
12:50 – Labour concedes defeat in Wales
Current Deputy Welsh First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies has admitted that his Labour Party will not be the largest party in Wales following today’s election.
According to the BBC, Irranca-Davies said, “I don’t think we’re going to be in that situation.”
“If it hasn’t cut through to the people of Wales, we’re not going to be in that position then to actually form the next government.”
Plaid Cymru are expected to be the big winners, with polls predicting that Wales, Scotland (SNP) and Northern Ireland (Sinn Fein) will all be ruled by nationalist governments following this election.
The result is a seismic shift in Welsh politics, which has saw Labour hold power indefinitely since Devolution in 1999 after over a century of Labour government dominance in Welsh elections.
Former First Minister Carwyn Jones has said the party has put itself in a position where it is “no longer seen as the party of the working people”.
12:34 – Journalists’ Union blast restrictions at count
By David Forrest.
NUJ Scotland have hit out at reports of journalists being banned from the floor at multiple counts across the country.
The Journalists’ union have claimed that counts at Perth, Inverclyde and Glenrothes “are restricting reporters ability to cover the count in the usual manner.”
“This is the biggest news day of the year and it is unacceptable if journalists are being barred from the floor of counts for no good reason.”
Journalists are usually allowed to mingle with candidates and chat to party officials to find out how the count is looking, but this has been restricted, with reporters calling it a significant restriction on press freedom.
The Scottish Parliamentary Journalists Association, which represents political journalists at Holyrood, has branded it ‘an unacceptable situation’ and has protested to the returning officers to litt
It’s a busy day for NUJ Scotland, STV’s election and news coverage has been taken off air after journalists and technical staff at the station walk out in a 24-hour strike over a pay freeze at the company. Anyone expecting to see Election coverage tonight will find a repeat of the Chase in its place.
12:23 – First Declaration: Lib Dem hold in Orkney
By David Forrest.
Orkney has drawn first blood in declarations, with the Lib Dems retaining their safe seat.
Liam McArthur has held the seat with 70% share of the vote.
12:20 – Reminder – We are expecting the very first results in the next hour
The first set of results are set to be announced in the next hour from Ayr as Airdrie’s count is taking longer than expected.
12:07-Scotland’s only seat to vote for Brexit in 2016 predicted to elect Reform MSP
By Adam Dunphy
Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency is another location that could end in upset as Reform could unseat the SNP’s Karen Adam.
Formerly the seat of First Minister Alex Salmond, the SNP have held the seat since 1999, but now Reform are looking to make an impact in this key constituency, particularly through the regional list vote.
With a slim majority of 2.3% in 2021, the margin for error is slim for the SNP, especially seeing as Reform picked up 14.6% of the vote in the 2024 UK general election in the area, which was their best result north of the border.
The Reform candidate, Conrad Ritchie, took home 25.9% of the vote in the Fraserburgh council by-election in 2024, marking him as a particularly popular Reform candidate.
12:06-SNP insiders concede Edinburgh Central will be won by the Scottish Greens
By Marco Suttie
BBC reporter David Wallace Lockhart tweeted: “SNP insiders seem to be conceding Edinburgh Central is going to the Greens.”
This would be a historic win for the party, who’ve never held a constituency seat at Holyrood before.
Greens candidate Lorna Slater is challenging SNP candidate Angus Robertson, who is a key senior figure in the party.
11:55-SNP are hoping to take Lib Dem stronghold Shetland
By Adam Dunphy
The Lib Dems are facing a major challenge from the SNP in their Shetland stronghold. The Constituency has been under Lib Dem control since devolution in 1999, making this potentially one of the major upsets expected this Parliament.
According to Labour candidate John Erskine, who spoke to Shetland News, he says “it’s looking like the SNP have potentially won.”
The SNP’s Hannah Mary Goodlad is looking to unseat Lib Dem candidate Emma Macdonald, who is replacing the incumbent Liberal Democrat Beatrice Wishart.
11:50-Longstanding Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Bailie may lose her seat, polls suggest
By Marco Suttie
The Scotsman reports that the deputy Scottish Labour Leader is facing a serious challenge from the SNP in her Dumbarton seat.
Jackie Bailie has held the seat since the first Scottish Parliamentary election 27 years ago, but polls suggest she could come third in the constituency.
She held back tears on the eve of the election as she said “every seat matters and every vote matters”.
11:41-Click to watch an election update from David Forrest
11:39-Scottish Reform Leader Malcom Offord not expected to win constituency election
By Adam Dunphy
Leader of the Reform party in Scotland is expected to lose the race for his Inverclyde constituency, however, he may still be elected to Parliament as he tops the regional list.
11:27-Douglas Ross concedes defeat in race to become biggest opposition party
By Adam Dunphy
Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, has said on the BBC that “we’re not going to remain the second biggest party.”
He has shared concerns that votes won;’t have voted for his party on the regional list vote.
The Scottish Tories picked up 31 seats in the previous parliament, but it appears that this result will not be repeated.
11:20-Turnout may be higher than expected, according to election expert.
By Marco Suttie
We previously reported that a relatively low turnout was expected in Scotland however new figures paint a different picture.
Speaking on the BBC Professor Sir John Curtice said: “The first constituency figure on the turnout in Scotland shows a two-point fall in turnout.
If this proves to be the pattern across the country turnout will be around 60%, repeating the relatively high turnout in 2021.”
11:08-Scottish Elections Polling
By Adam Dunphy
Polls suggest that the SNP will remain the biggest party with the most seats in Parliament, but won’t reach the threshold of 65 MSPs to form a majority.
Questions remain as to who will be the second biggest party, but with Reform surging in English council elections, they will have high hopes of similar success in Scotland.
10:58-Election Results are expected for the Airdrie constituency around lunchtime
By Adam Dunphy
Neil Gray, The Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care is seeking to regain his seat in Airdrie. Meanwhile, Reform’s Graham Simpson and Labour’s Suzanne Macleod is looking to take the seat from the SNP in what is likely to be one of the first major declarations of the day.
10:50- Cases of voter fraud suspected in Glasgow
By Craig Jinks
Last night as the polls closed, instances of voter fraud had been suspected and reported in some areas of Glasgow, up to four suspected cases.
The latest update in Glasgow, where officials have given further information on the allegations of voter impersonation.
They now say two of the instances are alleged to have taken place in the Glasgow Southside constituency, one in Cathcart and Pollok, and one in Easterhouse and Springburn.
These numbers are in keeping with most previous election counts.
Officials here say they usually turn out to be genuine mistakes where someone for instance forgot they had registered for a proxy vote to allow someone to vote of their behalf. But they added that all cases have to be investigated.
10:45-Record Numbers of MSPs stand down
By Adam Dunphy
42 MSPs are stepping down at these elections, 8 of whom were first elected in 1999, having had unbroken service since devolution. Notable figures include former First Ministers Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon.
10:43-Reform performing extremely well in English elections
By Adam Dunphy
Nigel Farage’s Reform party have gained nearly 400 seats in local council elections so far, with the Keir Starmer’s Labour suffering significant loss of 259 across the country.
The Conservatives have also seen loses of 171 so far.
Meanwhile the Greens and Liberal Democrats have seen gains of 27 and 37 respectively.
10:30-Prime Minister reacts to English Councils results so far
By Adam Dunphy
Keir Starmer has released a statement reacting to the results in England so far, saying “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos. We were elected to deal with these challenges and that is what we are going to do.”
Meanwhile Nigel Farage has said local elections in England are shaping up to be a “historic shift in British politics”.
Professor Sir John Curtis has said that “electoral politics in Britain has become highly fragmented.”
10:23 – Scottish voters show their frustrations
By Craig Jinks
Following on from a record high turnout in the last election in 2021 (63.2%), Phil Sim, BBC Scotland Political Advisor, has predicted these numbers to drop to ‘low to mid 50s’. These numbers were more typical of previous elections in the mid 2000s (52.4% in 2007 and 49.4% in 2003), indicating possible voter frustration.
This is in contrast to England who have seen a record high turnout of 43% at local council elections, up 8% from 2025.
10:18-Counting Commences
By Adam Dunphy
Votes are being counted across Scotland in the Parliamentary elections from 9am this morning, with first results expected around 12pm this afternoon.
